A Dangerous Gamble
by FearlessLion
Summary: "You know, when you bet on someone you don't usually tell them," she said, sounding thoroughly perplexed. "I know." "Then why are you telling me?"
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Harry Potter story! The beginning is slightly cliché, but trust me, it won't go down that usual path. I really don't know where this is going, but I have to get it out of my system. I'm open for suggestions!**

 **Oh, and by the way, Voldemort never had horcruxes, so he was killed the first time he tried to kill Harry.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Seriously, why would I be writing here instead of making millions of dollars by writing another mind-blowing series?**

Draco was _really_ angry.

"Drake, you alright?" asked Blaise, waving a hand in front of Draco's face.

Draco turned to give him a withering glare. "I really can't stand Weasley sometimes," he ground out through gritted teeth.

"You still mad about Potions?" asked Blaise, looking highly amused.

 _Professor Snape's voice rang out through the dungeon. "Potter and Zabini, Longbottom and Parkinson, Granger and Greengrass, Malfoy and Weasley …"_

" _Professor!" Draco protested. "I am not going to work with a_ Weasley _!"_

" _I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but you have no choice," Snape sneered._

 _Weasley came over, looking annoyed. "Don't try anything. Our friends may have become more amicable, but I don't trust you."_

" _Be useful for once by not doing anything," sneered Draco._

 _Weasley scowled._

 _After half an hour, Draco was getting suspicious. Weasley hadn't done anything yet. He got up to fetch some more ingredients._

 _He came back, and took out a mistletoe berry to flatten out with his knife. Then, he felt a cool liquid being poured over his head._

 _He whirled around. "Weasley!"_

 _Weasley had a look of satisfaction on his face._

" _Ron!" gasped the Boy-That-Refused-To-Die._

" _50 points from Gryffindor for pouring a unfinished potion on another student," snarled Snape. "Miss Granger, please escort Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing."_

 _Draco looked up in surprise. Snape looked at him neutrally, a knowing glint in his obsidian eyes._

" _Come on, Granger," he snapped._

 _After they exited the classroom, she started laughing. "You're blue."_

 _Draco looked at himself and scoffed. "Could have been worse."_

 _While she was laughing, he allowed himself to stare at her, mesmerized. When she looked up, he put his impassive expression back on._

"If you weren't my best mate, I swear, Zabini, you'd be dead," Draco snarled.

"I know," he smirked. "What are you going to do?"

"Haven't thought about it yet," he snapped.

"Yeesh. No need to get so sensitive," Blaise sniggered. "After all, you're no longer blue."

"Shut it."

Suddenly Blaise sat up straight. "I've got a great idea for your revenge, Drake," he said, grinning. "Come on."

[Head's Common Room]

"Still can't believe you were made Head Boy," commented Draco as he walked into the Head's common room.

"Better me than you. At least _I_ wouldn't peek into Hermione's room to catch a glance of her knickers."

Draco did not miss the casual use of her first name. "What'd you call her?"

"What, Hermione?" Blaise asked, grinning.

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Relax, mate. We're friends."

"Sure. What's this plan of yours?" asked Draco, sitting on a couch across from Blaise.

"Well," he began, "I added a little wager to it."

Draco leaned forward. "Yes?"

"Remember that day when you said you were the best looking guy in the school?"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I can get any girl."

Blaise smiled. Draco had fallen right into his trap. "We both can. Except for two."

Draco frowned, letting his composure slip for a moment. "Who?"

"Why, have you forgotten your little crush because of Weasley so quickly?"

Draco clenched his jaw, and Blaise knew he had him. "She's _mine_ ," he hissed.

"Don't worry," smirked the other Slytherin. "I have my eye on another Gryffindor."

"Who?"

"Weasley."

It took a second for Draco to process this.

"YOU'RE GAY?"

Blaise looked startled. "What? No! I meant Ginny!"

To his surprise Draco chuckled. "You've gone mental."

"Says the person that is obsessed with Hermione Granger."

Draco ignored him. "So, what you're saying is, I get Granger, you get Weaslette, whoever gets the girl to sleep with him first wins?"

Blaise nodded.

"How does this tie in with my revenge?"

"It's a known fact Weasley likes Hermione," he said with a shrug.

Draco smirked. "Very Slytherin of you, Blaise. However, you have an advantage. You don't have a bad history with the Weaslette."

"I thought you were more _irresistible_ than me," Blaise taunted.

Draco narrowed his eyes, but he couldn't back down now. "Don't you want Weasley to suffer, though, too? If you win this bet, which you won't, Weasley won't get as much of a punishment."

Blaise shrugged. "I've never had any problems with Weasley. I couldn't care less about your revenge."

"Some best mate you are," growled Draco. Then a smirk spread across his face. "Whoever loses the bet has to tell Millicent Bullstrode that they've fancied her since second year, then kiss her during dinner in the Great Hall," he said triumphantly.

"Deal."

They shook on it.

"What did you guys just bet on?" asked a familiar voice.

"What took you so long, Theo?" asked Blaise, lazily laying back on the couch.

Theo grinned sheepishly. "Forgot the password."

"Again?" asked Blaise incredulously. "That's the third time this month alone! And it hasn't even been changed!"

"Sad, isn't it?" another feminine voice said.

Draco nodded at his best female friend. "Pansy."

"So, what's this about a bet?"

"None of your business," Draco said, leaning back on the couch.

Pansy turned to Blaise.

"He's trying to make Hermione sleep with him. I'm pursuing the youngest Weasley. Whoever gets their girl to sleep with them first wins."

Pansy narrowed her eyes. "You shouldn't play with a girl's feelings."

"When have we ever listened to you, Pansy?" smirked Draco.

Pansy shook her head. "When she finds out and you've already fallen hard for her, all I'll say is 'I told you so.'"

"He's already in love with her," said Theo, breaking the awkward silence. "See, five years is quite a long time to crush on a girl. However, you guys play your little game. I'm gonna stay a bachelor forever."

"Why?" asked Blaise in surprise.

"Oh, please. Girls always expect you to know their special occasions and the like. I can hardly remember my own middle name, how am I supposed to remember what a girl's favorite chocolate brand is or that mushy romantic crap?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and left, muttering, " _Boys."_

Draco turned to Blaise. "What's the deadline?"

"March 16, six months from now."

Draco nodded.

"Now, get out of my room," ordered Blaise.

Scowling, Draco obliged, hearing the door slam shut behind him, but not before hearing Blaise's exuberant laughter.

 _Dear Merlin, someone remind me why he's my best mate._

 **Well, that's chapter 1! What do you think? Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I decided to continue the story! Ok, wow. That could not have been more obvious. Yeah… I'm very strange sometimes. And… I think I'll stop now…**

 **Thank you to CallMePatrickOrCallMeNothing for reviewing! I'm glad you like it!**

 **I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, then why are Draco and Hermione not together?**

"I can't believe that greasy git made you walk with _Malfoy_ to the Hospital Wing. He didn't try anything, did he?"

"No, Ron. Honestly, was pouring the potion on his head necessary? He didn't do anything!"

"He wouldn't let me do _anything_ in Potions. You and Harry may have forgiven the Slytherins, but before I even _consider_ forgiving the prick I need revenge for everything he's done."

Hermione sighed, shaking her head. Ever since Blaise had been made Head Boy, the two opposing houses had seen a lot more of each other, and gradually became more comfortable. Unfortunately, Ron and Malfoy's rivalry remained.

Her thoughts shifted to Malfoy. He hadn't called her a mudblood since the beginning of fourth year. When he came to visit Blaise in the Head's common room, he never bothered her, and was even friendly sometimes, at first leading her to think he had been placed under the Imperius Curse or had been given a potion to drink. Eventually, her wariness wore off.

"Hermione! What're you thinking about?"

"Nothing of importance, Harry," Hermione lied.

After dinner, she went back up to her common room, finding Ginny waiting for her.

"Hermione!"

"Hey, Ginny!"

"OhmygodguesswhatBlaiseaskedmeonadate!" she said, so quickly Hermione didn't catch anything.

"Um, could you say that slower?"

She took a deep breath. "Blaise asked me on a date!"

"Ginny, that's great!" beamed Hermione. She'd known about Ginny's major crush on the dark-skinned Slytherin for a month. Hermione slept in the same common room with the Slytherin for two months already, and therefore had no problem with him, and so found no reason to tell Ginny to be careful.

"Where is he?" Hermione wondered.

"No clue." Ginny sighed, most likely daydreaming about the Slytherin. "By the way, Hermione, don't you think it's time for you to get yourself a boyfriend?"

Hermione looked up sharply. "No boy has caught my eye."

Ginny had a glint in her eye. "Hermione, you're my best friend. You can't hide anything from me. You can deny that you like him, but you're definitely attracted to him."

Hermione sighed.

"Since when?" Ginny questioned.

A blush graced Hermione's cheeks. "I've noticed him since last year," she confessed. "But it's attraction and hormones." She looked up so Ginny could see she was telling the truth. "Nothing more."

The door was pushed open, and Hermione and Ginny looked up to see Ron and Harry.

"How many times must I tell you to knock?" asked Hermione with a slight grin.

"Always one more time," replied Harry cheekily.

There was another banging on the portrait leading to the room.

"Come in!" called Hermione. _At least this person knows how to knock._

"Can't," came the muffled reply. "I forgot the password."

Hermione sighed. _I stand corrected._ She got up to open the portrait. "Isn't this the third time this month?"

"Nope," Theo replied quite cheerfully. "Fourth, actually. Third time was about fifteen minutes ago."

"Why do you sound proud?" piped up Ginny.

Theo beamed. "I've only forgotten four times! This is a record!"

"It's only the 16th. If you came fifteen minutes ago, wouldn't you have been told the password?"

"Draco and Blaise neglected to tell me the new password."

"Do you even know what neglected means?"

"Nope," he said, grinning proudly. "I found it in a dictionary one day."

"I didn't know you owned a dictionary," Harry said, shock written all over his features.

"I don't. I borrowed Drake's."

"Did Malfoy or Blaise let you in?" asked Hermione, ignoring them.

"No, Pansy opened the portrait."

"Then she would've said the password to do it."

"So?"

"Then you would've _heard_ what the password was."

"Damn. Thought you'd overlook that little detail."

Hermione fought back a laugh.

"Take your time to leave the room. It's not like you came in unannounced or anything," she said sarcastically. "I'm going to the library."

"Wait, Hogwarts has a library?" asked Theo, his features widening in surprise. "Is that where you get all those books?"

Ron groaned. "Bloody hell, mate, you've been here for nearly seven years. How do you possibly forget about a library? Even _I_ know about the library!"

"You boys have fun," said Ginny, hopping off the bed. "Luna asked me to help her look for nargles. I couldn't say no."

Hermione was about to step into the hallway when Theo ran after her, calling her name.

"Yes?"

"The whole reason I came here was to tell you something."

"What?"

"I forget," he said thoughtfully. Then he brightened. "Oh yeah! Draco wants you to meet him at the owlery at 9:00."

Hermione's eyes widened. "That's in half an hour!"

"Oh well. I've got to go. Bye!" He was about to rush off, but paused. "Where are Draco and Blaise?"

Hermione shrugged.

"Damn. Why didn't Draco tell me where to meet him afterwards?"

Knowing Theo, Malfoy probably had, but Theo had just forgotten. Hermione decided to keep her mouth shut.

"I'll just go to the dorms," he decided.

"Alright," said Hermione, turning back to the common room. No point in going to the library now, when she'd only have 20 minutes. She'd been hoping for some quality study time.

"Hey Hermione, thought you were at the library," said Harry when she walked back in.

"I changed my mind," she said, not bothering to tell them about Malfoy.

"Hermione, what's this?" asked Ron, poking something with his wand and jumping back when it opened and started playing music.

Hermione giggled. "A music box. It's a muggle thing."

"Did you charm it to play music or something?"

"No, it does that on its own."

"Wicked," he breathed. "My dad would love this."

20 minutes later, Hermione was walking briskly towards the owlery.

"I didn't think you'd come," said a smooth, familiar voice.

"You asked me to," Hermione responded simply.

His lips curled up into a smirk. "When have you ever done anything I asked you to?"

Hermione laughed. "Good point. What did you ask me to come here for?"

"I couldn't ask you with Potter and Weasley there," he said.

"Why?"

He stared at her, ignoring her question. "Go out with me on Saturday night. 6:15, I'll pick you up at the Head's common room."

She stared at him, not bothering to hide her shock this time. "What?"

"I thought I'd start with a truce," he smirked, "but we seem to already have that. And I don't want you to get too attached to me… as a friend."

 **Wow, Draco came out pretty forward. I wanted to start with a truce, but it seemed as if my fingers had a different idea. Well, it came out okay, right?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, I'm doing pretty well with updating! I generally take, like, 50 years.**

 **Thank you to:**

 **CallMePatrickOrCallMeNothing- Thank goodness you liked it! I was a little worried about how forward Draco was!**

 **xasmin- I'm glad you think it was a good chapter!**

 **brandi hector- I'm glad that you're looking forward to it!**

 **Ahh! I cant believe you guys are still reading this! I'm fairly new to fanfiction, so I really appreciated the people that followed/favorited/reviewed this story!**

 **Ok, I'm sure you'd rather read the story than listen to me ramble about my accomplishments, so here you go!**

 **I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, the possibilities would be endless! (I'm not really sure if that made sense, but oh well.)**

Draco lay in bed that night, thinking about Hermione's eyes. He ignored his own use of Hermione's first name, deciding that if he was going to make her fall in love with him, he might as well use it. The way she looked at him… he'd never seen her eyes so close before. He had always thought of brown as a boring color **,** but then Hermione's eyes flashed though his mind again. Her eyes were the color of rich soil spotted with black, the color of dark chocolate with flecks of hazel nut, the abstruse brown of the winter trees at twilight, the luminescent brown of dry summer soil, glistening chestnut brown, the color of unpolished oak with abyssal mahogany flecks, the color of apple pips, mottled like varnished cork, the color of a desert palm tree with dapples of acorn shell.

Draco groaned. He was going soft if he put that much effort into describing her _eyes_.

But for her, becoming soft was worth it.

"Today, we will begin with wandless magic," said Professor Lupin. "Here are your partners: Weasley and Parkinson, Potter and Nott, Malfoy and Greengrass, Granger and Pucey, Patil and Zabini…"

Draco zoned out. At least he didn't have Weasley as a partner this time.

"Hello, beautiful," he heard Adrian Pucey say to Hermione. She glared at him. "Back off, Pucey," she hissed.

"Feisty," he smirked. Draco narrowed his eyes. That was _his_ smirk and _his_ Hermione.

"Granger can attend to herself," said a quiet voice behind him.

"Daphne," he acknowledged. Daphne Greengrass was Pansy's best friend, and had a brain for big words.

"We should commence," she told him. He nodded, putting down his wand. She did the same.

"You go first," he invited, glancing over at Pucey and Hermione. The latter was trying not to squirm under Pucey's stare and do the spell at the same time. Draco resisted the urge to go and break Pucey's nose.

"Draco," Daphne's firm but soft voice commanded. She inclined her head towards the bowl, indicating that it was his turn.

Well, Daphne certainly beat working with Weasley. He Vanished the water already in the basin and thought, _Aguamenti._

Immediately the bowl filled up with water.

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy," Lupin said approvingly. "5 points to Slytherin, to each of you."

As everyone left the classroom, Draco snatched Pucey and snarled at him, "Leave her alone. She's not yours."

Pucey looked at him levelly, but Draco could see the fear in his eyes. "She's not yours either."

"She's going to be. Don't go near her, understood?"

Pucey nodded, frightened.

Draco let him go and continued to his next class.

"You wished to see me?" Draco questioned as he walked into Snape's office after dinner.

"Yes, Draco. Sit down."

As soon as he was comfortable, Snape began. "When is your father going to find out you are attracted to a Muggleborn?"

Draco shrugged.

"He might disown you," Snape cautioned.

"I don't care," he responded. "Mother doesn't share his views. I'll inherit the Black family fortune and live off of that if I must. Besides, Father can't hurt me. I'm his only son."

Snape nodded slowly. "Draco, promise me… whatever you do, do not call her a mudblood, do you understand?"

Draco was shocked. "I haven't called her that since the beginning of fourth year!"

Snape sighed. "Listen to me. No matter how angry you get, don't call her that." His gaze clouded. "I, too, was once in love with a Muggleborn. We were best friends. I had never said that foul word in my life. But one day, when she got a little too friendly with another boy, I snapped."

"You called her…"

"Mudblood. Yes."

"Why are you helping me? You hate Hermione Granger."

"Only because she reminds me of what I lost."

"Who was it?"

Snape paused, before saying, "Lily Evans. But after I drove her away she became Lily Potter."

Draco stared at him, shocked. "Potter's mum?"

Snape nodded. "Yes, now get out of my office."

As Draco exited, he couldn't believe he'd had that discussion with Snape, of all people. Well, maybe one day he and Weasley can shake hands while puppies fly without magic. Having a sentimental discussion with Snape was definitely weirder.

"Drake!" Theo's voice broke into is thoughts. "What's the password again?"

"You forgot _again_?"

"No! It's not like that! I forgot it yesterday, and Hermione let me in. She didn't tell me the password though!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Pax Amicita." The portrait swung open.

"So _that's_ what it was," said Theo. "How do you remember that? It's not even English!"

Blaise looked up as they walked into his room.

Theo's mouth dropped open. "You were in here the whole time?"

"Of course," Blaise grinned.

"Why didn't you let me in?"

"Hearing you shout was more fun."

"Some friend you are," Theo grumbled.

"I know, right? I've been saying that since the beginning of the year," Draco exclaimed.

Just then, the portrait opened again to reveal Hermione and Ginny. The latter blushed when she saw Blaise.

"What's with you and the little Weasley?" asked Draco suspiciously as soon as the girls disappeared into Hermione's room. He quickly closed the door and put up a silencing charm.

Blaise inspected his fingernails. "Asked her on a date. She couldn't refuse," he said smugly. "Looks like I'm gonna win."

Draco smirked. "You just keep telling yourself that."

Blaise narrowed his eyes. "How are you doing with Hermione?"

"Same as you."

"Wow, really?" asked Theo. "That was quick. She used to hate your guts."

Draco shrugged indifferently. "Like I said, I'm irresistible."

 **Oh, and who recognized the quote that Adrian Pucey said to Hermione in Defense Against the Dark Arts? I couldn't resist using it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**You guys have no idea how happy I get when I get alerts that someone has favorited/followed/reviewed this. It's proof that it doesn't suck!**

 **Thank you:**

 **CallMePatrickOrCallMeNothing- I like it too, but I thought it was a little weird but funny :)**

 **NekoDarkHeart- Thanks! I'm glad you thought so, my fingers agree with you!**

 **beaflower114- I'm glad you like it! And I'm going to try to update at my current pace so you and the other people can continue** **reading!**

 **I don't own Harry Potter. But I wish I did. *** **Sighs dramatically** *****

Hermione sat in the common room, doing homework, when her name was called.

"Hermione!"

"Yeah, Ginny?" she asked, not looking up from her homework.

"Come on, Lav and Pav are going to be here soon!"

Hermione groaned. "Why?"

"You have a date at 6:15! Lavender and Parvati are going to help get you ready!"

"Ginny, that's in four hours."

"I know! I should have called you earlier!"

Hermione sighed, knowing it was futile to argue more.

As soon as Lavender and Parvati entered the common room, the girls got right to work. Lavender started working with her hair, scolding her about keeping the shine of it. Parvati and Ginny started on her makeup.

"Hermione, your skin is so soft!" gushed Parvati. "What do you use?"

She didn't give Hermione enough time to answer before applying lipstick on Hermione's lips. Ginny hurried back to the Gryffindor common room to find a good dress from Lavender or Parvati's wardrobe. She came back with a golden high-low dress and ordered Hermione to put it on.

She complied, and Ginny beamed. "It's perfect!"

Lavender finally finished with Hermione's hair, and they allowed Hermione to look at her reflection.

Hermione gasped. She could barely recognize herself. She had on striking crimson dangly earrings that matched with her gold dress. Her makeup made her eyes pop out. Her lips were a sexy red and her hair cascaded down her back in beautiful waves.

"Dear Merlin…" she breathed.

"You look gorgeous," said Parvati.

"Breathtaking," laughed Ginny.

Lavender grinned. "Hurry and go make your date breathless! It's almost 6:15!"

Hermione's eyes widened. They'd taken _that_ long? Sure enough, there was a knock on the portrait. "Are you decent?" Draco called.

"Yes," she replied, and he came in, his eyes widening before he gained his composure.

"'Mione, your date is _Draco Malfoy_?" gasped Lavender.

"Come on," said Ginny, pulling them out of the room.

Draco approached her. "You looked beautiful," he murmured.

"You don't look bad yourself," she responded. He was wearing, to her surprise, a muggle tuxedo. His hair was not gelled, as usual, and Hermione was glad he hadn't gelled it.

"Not bad? I look amazing," he all but growled, and Hermione laughed. "Fine, you look breathtaking." She looked up at him, and this time, his eyes were warm. That night at the owlery, she had been struck by their coldness, like a stab of ice. Every detail in his irises so clear, so concise. For lack of words, he was like a piece of art that nobody could understand, leaving everyone who stared confused, uncomprehending. They were the grey that flashes of metal hitting the bright rays of the sun. It was like a hatch had opened in his eyes and the color had fallen out, leaving his eyes to look like the dazzling and breathtaking snow, or a sparkling diamond.

"Paris, Venice, or Rome?" he asked, his voice like a soft caress against her cheek.

"Venice," she replied, staring at him, mesmerized. She followed him throughout the hallways of Hogwarts, and soon realized where they were going.

They stood in front of the Room of Requirement, and slowly the doors appeared. Hermione gasped when she walked inside. It looked so real, with the water and gondolas. Draco took her hand and led her into an Italian restaurant.

"Quello che posso ottenere questa sera?" asked the waiter.

Hermione frowned, but to her surprise, Draco said in perfect Italian, "Vorrei petti di pollo, a la signora vorrei…" He turned to her. "What do you want?"

"Steak," she replied immediately.

"Bistecca," he said to the waiter.

"You can speak Italian?" asked Hermione when the waiter left.

"I learned many languages when I was younger," he replied.

"Say something," she said eagerly.

"What language?"

"What languages can you speak?" she asked.

"Italian, French, and German."

"Say something in French."

"Si seulement vous saviez combien pouvoir que vous détenez sur moi," he said.

"What does that mean?"

He smirked. "I can't believe I am here with a know-it-all."

Her mouth dropped open. "Rude!"

"Je déteste la façon dont vous pouvez me faire sentir tant d'émotions à la fois."

"What?"

"I actually know something that you don't for once," he smirked.

"Can I try saying something in French?"

"What?"

"I am infinitely better than Draco Malfoy!"

"Je t'aime plus que tout, Draco Malfoy," he said.

"Je t'aime plus que tout, Draco Malfoy," she repeated slowly.

He smiled, and Hermione stared at him in surprise. "You look handsome when you smile," she blurted out, and slapped a hand over her mouth in horror.

He looked at her with an unreadable expression. "Sie sind atemberaubend, wenn sie lachen," he responded softly. "You're breathtaking when you laugh."

She blushed crimson.

The waiter came, saving them from an awkward moment. "Il vostro cido è qui," he said.

While eating, Hermione and Draco exchanged stories. Hermione almost choked when he told her why Theo wanted to remain a bachelor.

"The saddest part is, I can see Theo forgetting his middle name," she laughed.

After dinner, they came out of the Room of Requirement, and Hermione gave a wistful sigh. "That was fun," she murmured.

"Of course it was. You were with me," Draco said cockily. Hermione smacked him on the shoulder. "You're so arrogant," she laughed.

He walked her to the common room. "Goodnight, Draco," she said, and was about to turn in when he took her arm, gently twirled her around, and kissed her.

Hermione gasped in surprise, and he took the opportunity to push his tongue into her mouth, yet somehow there was nothing pushy about it. After getting over the initial shock, she kissed him back, matching his intensity. She had thought feeling sparks were just an expression, but she felt fireworks. His mouth moved against hers sensually, and she let out a quiet moan. She, too, ran her tongue against his bottom lip, and he groaned. Her fingers had somehow wound up in his hair, as were his hands. Soon she came up for air, feeling breathless. She touched her lips gently.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Wow is right," he agreed. "Goodnight, Hermione." And he was gone.

 **Man, Draco really is forward, isn't he? Am I going too fast? I hadn't wanted their first kiss to be so early in the story, but once again, my fingers took over. Did you like it?**

 **Here are the translations, in order of when they were said:**

 **Italian: Quello che posso ottenere questa sera? – What may I get you this fine evening?**

 **Italian: Vorrei petti di pollo, a la signora vorrei… - I would like chicken breasts, and the lady would like…**

 **Italian: Bistecca – steak**

 **French: Si seulement vous saviez combien pouvoir que vous détenez sur moi – If only you knew how much power you hold over me.**

 **French: Je déteste la façon dont vous pouvez me faire sentir tant d'émotions à la fois – I hate how you can make me feel so many emotions at once.**

 **French: Je t'aime plus que tout, Draco Malfoy – I love you more than anything, Draco Malfoy.**

 **German: Sie sind atemberaubend, wenn sie lachen – You're breathtaking when you laugh.**

 **Italian: Il vostro cibo è qui – your food is here**

 **I used an online translator, so if they're wrong, sorry!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you:**

 **beaflower114- I suppose it does seem very Draco-ish, doesn't it?**

 **kamarooka- I'm glad you like it!**

 **IamModestyFBAWTF (Guest)- Thanks! And I do plan on writing more- I am not going to ruin this miraculous streak of updating on time! :)**

 **ItsNanna- Oh, but would Draco really be Draco if he wasn't like that? *smirks***

 **Who would actually believe me if I said I owned Harry Potter?**

"Spill," Ginny demanded as soon as Hermione stepped into the room.

Hermione groaned. "Sometimes I really regret giving you the password."

"Too bad for you. Spill!"

"We went to the Room of Requirement."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Details!"

Finally, Hermione conceded. "It looked like Venice. We went to one of the restaurants and it was beautiful." She sighed wistfully. "He can speak three other languages. We just talked afterwards, and right before I was going to go into the Head's common room…" she blushed.

"What?" Ginny demanded.

"He kissed me," she breathed.

"Oh my goodness!" squealed Ginny. "What did it feel like?"

"Earth-shattering… breathless… Gin, it was amazing!"

"You've finally got yourself a boy!" she exclaimed. "Oh my goodness, you'll be so cute together… We just have to make sure my clueless brother doesn't ruin everything and make you guys upset…"

"You've got your date with Blaise tomorrow," said Hermione, hoping to get the attention off of her. "Have you told Ron?"

"That is the stupidest thing you've ever said, Hermione. Of course not! He'd freak!"

Hermione agreed silently.

"Ginny, I think you'd better get back. It's almost ten."

Ginny pouted. "Fine."

After Ginny left, Hermione lay in bed, thinking. So what if she was attracted to Draco. She could handle Ron. He didn't own her. Harry shouldn't have a problem with it – he and Draco had been getting along just fine. They certainly weren't enemies anymore. She groaned internally. Now she was thinking about what would happen if they were a couple. Was Ginny right? Had she been in denial the whole year? _The first step to love is denial,_ she'd said. Hermione had scoffed, saying she'd never love Malfoy. However, the thought no longer seemed repulsive.

Suddenly, she remembered exactly whom she was thinking about. Draco Malfoy. Sure, he wasn't an enemy anymore, but she knew he was a good actor. She would have to be careful.

Hermione closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Honestly, Ron, can you eat one thing at a time?" asked Hermione, annoyed. Ron grinned.

"Sorry, 'Mione. I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Ginny pointed out.

"Whatever," said Ron, stuffing more food into his mouth.

Hermione laughed. Some things would never change. She looked up and saw Draco staring at her. He gestured towards the door, a clear sign to meet him there.

"I'm finished," Hermione said.

"Can I have the rest of your food?" asked Ron.

"Go ahead," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Hermione," he greeted. The way he said her name sent shivers down her spine, but she controlled herself.

"Draco," she said with a smile.

"Hermione!" She turned; thanking Merlin it was only Harry.

"Hey, Harry."

"Malfoy, you'd better leave. Ron's coming," said Harry. "We saw the two of you come out, and Ginny's distracting Ron."

Draco nodded and left.

"Git can't even say thank you," Harry grumbled, but there was no real malice in his words.

"'Mione, did Malfoy hurt you?" asked Ron, coming into view.

"No," Hermione replied. "He's not all that bad anymore, you know."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione, he's like evil personified. You shouldn't go near him."

"Ronald, I am not a possession!" Hermione snapped. "Do you not trust my judgment?"

"No, I do, but-"

"I am a grown woman, Ron. You can't make decisions for me!"

Ron's ears were growing red. "I'm looking out for you, 'Mione!"

Hermione sighed, feeling drained. "Ron, I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions."

"Ron," said Harry, stepping in quickly. "Hermione is the smartest witch of her age. If she trusts Malfoy, then so do I."

"But – he's _Malfoy_!" Ron sputtered, as if that solved everything.

"And you're Weasley," spat Draco from behind Hermione.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been there, Malfoy?"

"The whole time," he sneered. "Honestly, Weasel, Hermione's ten times smarter than you. You condescending bravado is a revilement to her intelligence."

Ron's face was starting to get as red as his hair. "I don't want her to get hurt," he snapped.

"If I attack her, I'm sure she would be able to out-duel me," Draco retorted.

There was silence as Ron realized that Draco had just given Hermione a compliment. Then, Ron muttered, "Fine. Maybe Harry and Hermione were right."

"Yes, they were," Draco agreed.

Ron looked at Hermione, and then at Harry. "I'll try to give you a chance," he said begrudgingly. "But only for them."

"Wow, my life goal has been accomplished, Weasley," Draco sneered sarcastically. "I've always wanted you to give me a chance."

Hermione saw Harry bite back a laugh from the corner of her eye.

"You're a prat, Malfoy. Don't expect us to get close," Ron spat.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Weasley," he replied. "Potter, Hermione, leave us be for a second. I won't hurt him," he said.

Unsurprisingly, neither Harry nor Hermione moved.

Draco sighed, taking out his wand and giving it to Hermione. "Happy? Weasley has the advantage." Hermione stared at his wand in shock for a minute. The fact he had trusted her with his wand meant a lot.

"Ron, if anything happens here…"

"You'll make me do my own homework without any help?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I'll limit your food privileges." She wasn't really sure how she would do that, but hopefully Ron wouldn't realize that.

Ron's eyes widened. "YOU'LL WHAT? NO! You can't do this to me!"

"I can write to your mother if you prefer that. Or, you could just have a civil conversation."

Ron pouted. "Fine."

"What do you think Malfoy's playing at?" asked Harry once they were out of hearing range.

"No clue," said Hermione, feigning innocence, but Harry saw right through her.

"What is it, Hermione?"

Should she tell him? _Better now before he gets really mad at me for keeping is a secret for so long,_ she decided.

"Draco has been… courting me, for lack of better words," Hermione blushed.

"Since when?" asked Harry, looking a little angry.

"Not long. Two nights ago, he took me out."

"Where?"

"Room of Requirement."

Harry sighed, surprisingly calm. "When are you going to tell Ron?"

She shrugged. "When he's forgiven Draco, I suppose."

Harry stared at her. "Blimey, you really don't see it?"

"See what?"

"Ron fancies you, Hermione. If you go off with Malfoy, he'll get really angry."

"Since when?"

"Fourth year."

Hermione's mouth felt dry. "He had three years to ask me out, then. Besides -" she blushed some more – "I really like Draco. I've been attracted to him since last year, Harry. I know I should have told you earlier, but –"

"You were worried about my reaction?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if it's confession time, I may as well confess as well." He leaned forward. "I like Luna."

"Lovegood?"

"No, Luna Mortilla. How many other Lunas do we know, Hermione?"

Hermione grinned. "Does she know?"

"No."

"You should tell her."

"Why? What if she doesn't return the feeling?"

Hermione smirked. "It worked on me."

 **I know this chapter was sorta uneventful, but the next chapters are going to be more interesting! At least I hope so! I mean, not everyone shares the same opinion and that stuff… I'll shut up now.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you:**

 **TheShulesLovinPsycho- I guess it is pretty interesting! But I'm** **biased, so my input doesn't really count. I'm glad you like it!**

 **HiddenYori- Well, here you go!**

 **IamModestyFBAWTF- Haha, here it is!**

 **NekoDarkHeart- I liked the food thing, I thought that was a funny way to get Ron to talk. And this isn't the last we see of the softer Draco!**

 **Harry Potter belongs to the genius JK Rowling, whose only fault is to not put Draco and Hermione together.**

"What do you want?" snapped Weasley.

"Hermione."

"What?" Weasley looked taken aback by his answer.

"I know you fancy her," said Draco. "But I love her."

Weasley stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. "Who are you and what have you done to Draco Malfoy?"

Draco ignored him. "How long have you liked Hermione?" He knew he could easily warn him off, but he was Hermione's friend, so naturally he would have to play nice. He groaned internally. He was turning into a sap.

The tips of Ron's ears burned. "Fourth year."

"At the Yule Ball, I presume?" smirked Draco.

Weasley nodded.

"I fell for her in second year," Draco said, as if he didn't just tell his former nemesis that he was in love with his best friend.

Weasley looked like a gaping fish. "Am I seriously having a sappy conversation with Draco Malfoy? I think Snape is more likely to get laid!"

Draco shuddered. "Someone get that mental image out of my head."

"Malfoy," began Ron, "I don't give a shit that you liked Hermione before I did. I have a better chance than you!"

"Do you really?" Draco smirked, infuriating the redhead was just too hard to resist. "I've already kissed her."

"You've WHAT?" he roared.

Draco sneered. "Control that temper, Weasley. No wonder Hermione's not interested in you."

Weasley glared, but determined to prove him wrong, kept his mouth shut.

"If you want what's best for Hermione, let her go and find someone else before you become too attached," Draco growled. "I'm doing this so you can maintain your friendship with her. Because if she's unhappy, than so am I. Look at what I've become!" He spread out his arms. "I've turned soft! I spent a whole twenty minutes one night describing her eyes!"

Weasley stared at him. "You actually do love her."

"No shit, Weasley. What have I been saying this whole time?"

Weasley looked like he was having an argument with himself. "Thanks," he finally stuttered out. "For, you know, telling me."

Draco smirked. "No problem." _I cannot believe I had that conversation and made nice with a_ Weasley _. I will only do that for you, Hermione. No one else._

[One Month Later]

Draco turned to her. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath, her eyes closing, and then opening. "Yes."

"We don't have to do it if you're not ready, you know," he said.

"No, I'm ready," she said, letting out a breath. "Let's get this over with."

Ginny and Blaise walked in first. After almost a month of being a couple, the gossip had died down.

Hermione squeezed his hand tighter. "Come on," she said.

They walked into the Great Hall.

It was like someone had cast a powerful _Silencio_ throughout the whole room. Only Snape didn't look surprised. He was smirking.

He let go of Hermione's hand and walked over to the Slytherin table. Pansy beckoned him over.

As he walked, some Slytherins jeered at him. He sneered back. "No one is to touch her," he growled. "No one is to do _anything_ that might endanger her. Including telling my father. Because if you do, I'll make your life hell," he threatened.

He sat down as if yelling at his House table was totally normal.

"Never thought you'd come out, mate," Blaise told him.

"Well, I never thought I'd see Snape grinning like a schoolboy that got an 'Outstanding' on his O.W.L., but I'm seeing it," said Pansy, looking deeply disturbed.

They all turned.

Blaise's jaw dropped. Daphne stared at him in shock. Other Slytherins looked to see what they were looking at.

"Merlin, what happened to him?" asked Draco incredulously.

"The apocalypse has started," muttered Pansy.

"What did he eat?" cried Pucey.

"What happened?" exclaimed Astoria Greengrass.

"Is he alright?" asked Theo, eyes wide. "Nobody slipped him a potion, right?"

Snape was indeed grinning happily at Draco. Draco stared at him, thinking he was hallucinating.

[Staff Table]

"Severus, you're scaring students," said Professor McGonagall, poking him. Snape swatted her hand away.

"Why are you so happy anyway?" asked Professor Lupin. "You look like you've had a field day."

Snape scowled. "Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger have finally come out."

"You knew?" McGonagall exclaimed. "Since when?"

"A month or so," he said, shrugging.

"Albus, did you know about this?" asked an increasingly flustered McGonagall.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Of course, my dear Minerva."

McGonagall looked like she wanted to scream.

[Gryffindor Table]

As everyone began to leave, Draco saw Weasley pull Hermione back. Quickly, he cast a charm to amplify their voices.

"Hermione, I know you really like Malfoy."

She glanced at Weasley suspiciously. "Yes, Ron?"

"I'm fine with it."

"What?"

"I fancied you for a while, but I've started… noticing… Pansy." He turned red.

Hermione smiled. "Ron, that's great!"

He let out a breath of relief. "Thank Merlin, Hermione. I thought things were going to be awkward for a while. And if we weren't talking, my grades would go down drastically!" he shuddered.

Hermione laughed. "I love you as a brother, Ron. I'm glad you've started liking another girl. You deserve happiness and I wouldn't be able to give you that."

"I just thought… well, you know, she's a Slytherin."

"Slytherins can change. I'm dating one for Merlin's sake!"

Draco cast the counter-spell, not needing to hear any more. It was starting to sound a little mushy, and he never was very good with mushy conversations. Everything was as it should be. He just needed to ask Blaise how well he was doing on the bet. Probably the same as him, if the big smiles on the little Weasley's face all the time were connected to the Italian Slytherin.

Draco was going to win. Blaise may have been an ambitious Slytherin, but he was a more cunning one. He knew Blaise was falling in love with the little Weasley. But Blaise would not win. He was sure of that.

 **Did you like it? Smiling Snape was very fun to write. What do you think Draco's planning on doing to win? As the author, I know, but I'm evil and prefer creating suspense. *Attempts evil laugh but ends up failing miserably***


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm finally going to do a quidditch match! I can't believe I almost forgot about them. I'm not really sure about the Hufflepuff and Slytherin quidditch teams, so sorry if I get something wrong!**

 **I just wanted to point out that as I am writing this, it is Harry's birthday!**

 **Ksanchita8- I loved writing about Snape smiling, glad you enjoyed it!**

 **Lala-rainbowlight- in reply to your chapter 4 review- LUCKY! I thought I was talented, I can speak 2, I wish I could learn more languages! In reply to your chapter 6 review, I'm soooo happy you liked that part!**

 **Guest- Haha, Malfoy does not do mushiness! And Snape does not smile!**

 **NekoDarkHeart- Oh, I loved that McGonagall moment!**

 **I'm not British. I'm not even blonde. So no, I don't own Harry Potter.**

Draco sneered at the Hufflepuff captain, Zacharias Smith, as he shook his hand. His team had trained diligently and _would not_ lose to a bunch of Hufflepuffs. They'd all agreed to not cheat, even if absolutely necessary. He blamed it on the fact that Hermione was rubbing off on him.

Luna Lovegood was commentating, a rather strange choice in his opinion.

"I want a clean match," said Hooch, releasing the snitch. There was an uproar coming from both the Hufflepuff and Slytherin quidditch stands.

"Zabini takes hold of the quaffle and passes it to Montague," Lovegood said dreamily. Draco tuned her out, looking for snitch. He saw the Hufflepuff seeker, Summerby, looking around as well. Suddenly, Draco raced forward on his Firebolt, pretending to see the snitch.

"It looks as if Malfoy has seen the snitch," said Lovegood.

As predicted, Summerby raced after him, looking frantically around for the small golden ball.

"And here we see that Malfoy has feigned seeing the snitch, as he pulls up from a Wronsky Feint," Lovegood announced.

Draco watched as Summerby narrowly missed crashing into the ground. He fought back the urge to sneer at him. He had to focus.

"Montague passes the ball the Bole, who scores. We can see our Hufflepuff beaters closing in on the other side of the field. 70 – 50 Slytherin!"

The quidditch stands were in an uproar. Draco saw Hermione cheering, who was between Potter and the youngest Weasley, her scarf whipping around in the wind. Then his eyes focused on something directly above the three of them.

He zoomed in towards the snitch, faintly aware of Summerby flying in after him. But his Comet Two Sixty would never overtake Draco's Firebolt.

He chased after the small golden ball, finally feeling his fingers clasp around it.

"Malfoy catches the snitch. Slytherin wins, 230 – 80!"

The Slytherin stands cheered so loud Draco was sure the students in Durmstrang could hear them. Nonetheless, he allowed himself to grin, holding up the snitch. He spotted Hermione, beaming at him.

Draco smiled as Hermione flung herself into his arms. "You did great," she said, her voice slightly muffled.

He said nothing, holding her tight as her friends and the Slytherins came over.

Potter made a face. "PDA."

Hermione laughed. "We're hugging. We could be doing much worse."

"Or much better," grinned Draco. Hermione smacked him again.

"Hey! Violence, woman!"

She crossed her arms, mock glaring at him.

Weasley was staring at Pansy, a lovesick gaze on his face. Draco rolled his eyes internally. He couldn't be more obvious.

"Hermione," he murmured into her ear. "Let's go make out."

She blushed, an adorable pink that spread across her cheeks. "You're so blunt."

He smirked. "I know."

"And arrogant."

"Bossy know–it–all."

"For Merlin's sake, stop before the sexual tension gets too high and you end up having sex with your clothes on," Blaise interrupted.

"How does that even work?" wondered Weasley. "You can't possibly –"

"Don't finish that sentence!" cried Hermione.

"What are you doing?" sneered a familiar voice. Snape.

"Nothing," chorused Potter, Weasley, Hermione, Ginny, Pansy, Blaise, and Draco in creepy, never to be repeated unison.

Snape raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced. Without a word he left, his robes billowing behind him.

"Well, that was not weird at all," said Blaise flippantly.

Weasley snorted. "No, of course not. Especially how we all said the same thing at the same time. Totally normal."

Draco barely heard them. All he could focus on was Pucey, who was on the other side of the field, a hungry gaze on Hermione. _His_ Hermione.

"Draco?" Her voice was like a soft melody, calming him instantly. "Are you alright?"

He nodded, tearing his gaze away from the other Slytherin. "Can we go make out now? I'm bored."

"You're spoiled," she laughed. He kissed her, and she responded, but before they could get any further there was a cough.

"Honestly," sighed Blaise, "can't you two restrain yourselves for a couple of minutes?"

"You're one to talk," scowled Weasley. "At least Hermione's not your sister."

"Pfft. Hermione _loves_ me," Blaise said exaggeratingly, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Woah, Hermione, keep your hands off my boyfriend," joked Ginny.

Hermione slid out of Blaise's grasp. "With pleasure," she replied playfully.

Blaise held hid hand to his chest mockingly. "How easily you dismiss our love!"

"Wait, _what_?" asked Theo suddenly. "Mate, I thought you were with Ginny!"

There was a collection of groans and facepalms.

"What?" asked a bewildered Theo.

"Blaise was being dramatic," said Pansy by way of explanation.

"Was not," Blaise protested.

"Don't be childish," snapped Pansy.

"Why did you become friends with him?" asked Potter.

Draco smirked. "You're his friend, too, Potter."

"Unfortunately."

"We'd better go," said Weasley. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Pansy informed him.

"Very true," Hermione agreed. "I've never heard the words 'I'm full' come out of Ron's mouth."

Weasley scowled.

"Lighten up, mate," laughed Potter, clapping him on the back as they began walking back to the castle.

"I am so confused," said Theo. "What are we talking about?"

"Theo," Blaise said dramatically, "we are talking about the very important subject surrounding Ron's eating habits."

Theo looked at him blankly.

"We're talking about Ron eating," little Weasley clarified.

"Oh," was all Theo said, looking slightly lost.

Draco rolled his eyes. His friend was so thick. His gaze settled on Hermione, who was conversing with Pansy.

Merlin, he loved her so much. The way she was so infuriating when they argued, the way her face lit up when she smiled, how she would always have to brush back a strand of hair when she was reading, and how she completed him. _You know you love someone when you cannot put into words how they make you feel,_ his mother had once told him.

"Draco!" called Blaise. "You alright? You like, zoned out."

Draco waved his hand airily. "I'm fine."

He was more than fine, he thought, as he looked back at Hermione affectionately.

 **Sorry that this was kinda a filler chapter. And a little short. But I loved that Theo moment! And that sentimental Draco moment! I think I had too much sugar today. Oh well.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you:**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: Haha, glad you liked it!**

 **NekoDarkHeart: Oh, wow! I didn't think anyone would catch that! Great job!**

 **I can only dream of owning Harry Potter.**

"Ron, how does Mrs. Weasley make enough food for your whole family to eat? You eat the same amount of food five people do! And it's only breakfast!"

"I'm a big boy, Hermione. Big boys need food," Ron grinned.

There was a clinking sound, and everyone quieted, recognizing the familiar symbol for silence.

"If you were here three years ago, you would remember the Yule Ball. Because Mr. Potter is one of the champions that participated in the event, we have decided to have another ball, as Mr. Potter is going to graduate this year," said Dumbledore.

Harry groaned. "The Yule Ball was a nightmare," he muttered.

Ginny whacked him on the shoulder. "Doesn't mean this one will be. Better ask Luna to go with you soon."

"You gonna ask Pansy, mate?" asked Harry, ignoring Ginny.

Ron sighed. "What kind of idiot invented that boys always have to make the first move? Dating, proposing – "

"Ron! Girls can do that if they want. It's just more traditional for males to ask females first," said Hermione.

Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly, effectively ending all of the murmurs that spread across the room. "We request that only fourth years and above may go, unless someone from the required field decides to take someone younger."

There were some groans and sighs.

"The ball will be prepared by the Head Boy and Girl. Girls will wear formal attire. Boys are allowed to wear either dress robes or tuxedos."

Ron sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin I don't have to wear dress robes."

Hermione silently agreed. Ron's dress robes in fourth year had been horrific.

Hermione was diligently copying down notes in History of Magic, when she felt something hit her shoulder. She picked up the piece of parchment.

 _Meet me in the astronomy tower after dinner._

She rolled her eyes. Draco was as arrogant as ever. Only he would have the gall to command her to do something.

She turned slightly, caught his eye, and nodded. He smirked.

As soon as Professor Binns let them go, Ron sighed. "That was absolute torture, 'Mione. How can you stand to listen to him? All he does is talk!"

"If I don't pay attention in classes, I might fail my exams!" Hermione pointed out.

"Hermione, it's December. Exams are in June," said Ron.

"Well, the rest of us don't even have to copy notes," said Theo, appearing out of nowhere. "My grade in Charms have been raised from a 'P' to a 'A!'"

"Theo, how did you make it this far in life?" asked Harry.

"I know, right?" said Blaise from behind Hermione. "One of life's greatest mysteries. That is the question which I've been pondering for the past seven years."

"How in the world did you pass your O.W.L.s?" asked Ron.

Theo grinned. "Daphne Greengrass helped me. Granted, I didn't understand half the words that she said, but it worked."

"By 'it worked,' you mean 'barely passed.' I swear, if Dumbledore wasn't such a nice guy you'd have been toast a long time ago," said Blaise.

"I completely agree with you," said another voice. Draco.

"We're blocking the corridor," Hermione interrupted. "Come on."

"Thank Merlin it's Friday," sighed Ron. "What time is it? I'm starving!"

"You're always starving. This time is no different," said Blaise.

"When are you two going to start planning the ball?" asked Harry, ignoring Ron.

"We'll probably start tonight," said Hermione. "We don't want to be behind on our work."

Blaise looked like he was about to say something, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Hermione felt Draco's hand curl protectively around her waist. She looked up to see Adrian Pucey, and immediately shifted a little closer to Draco. Ever since that Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Pucey had given her the creeps. He'd flirted with her all throughout class with a strange glint in his eye.

However, all Pucey did was walk around them, averting his eyes. Hermione looked at Draco, who was glaring at him.

"What's wrong, Drake?" asked Theo, oblivious to the tension.

Draco released her slightly. "Nothing."

Harry groaned. "We've got Potions next."

"In that case, we'd better go before Snape deducts points," said Ron.

As the group made their way towards the dungeon, Hermione's thoughts drifted to Draco. He'd changed, that was for sure, but he was still very closed off. She could never read him, except for those rare moments when he was very tender to her.

"Earth to Hermione!" cried Blaise, poking her in the shoulder.

Instinctively Hermione slapped his arm.

"Hey!" Blaise pouted. "That hurt!"

Hermione sniffed. "Good."

They managed to make it to their seats three minutes before class started.

Snape stalked into the classroom. "Put your homework on my desk."

Hermione took out her essay and complied.

"Today we will be brewing a love potion that's fragrance is familiar to the one that you love. Do not be alarmed if you do not smell anything. It only means that you are not in love. It is a very complex potion, and I do not expect you to brew it correctly on your first try." Snape sneered. "Your partners are Malfoy and Nott, Weasley and Parkinson, Zabini and Weasley, Greengrass and Granger, Potter and Patil…"

Hermione moved to Daphne Greengrass and took out her textbook. She flipped to the page with the instructions to the potion.

"Do you love Draco?" Greengrass asked.

Hermione looked up, startled. "What?"

Greengrass shrugged. "As we will be embarking on this apparently difficult task of brewing a very challenging love potion, I do not wish for you to smell the essence of your beau and be surprised. By inquiring your love for him, the circumvolution in your head has started to rotate, and if you do catch a whiff of Draco's fragrance, you shall not be as startled."

Hermione was taken aback. No wonder Theo hadn't understood half the words Greengrass had said. The vocabulary she possessed was astonishing. All Hermione said was, "Oh."

Greengrass smiled. "You are nothing like I had perceived you to be. I hope we will become abundant companions."

Hermione smiled, retaining her composure. "Me too."

"We should inaugurate with our potion," said Greengrass. Hermione agreed.

Forty-five minutes later, they were finished. Snape appeared in front of them.

"Good," he said. "Five points each."

He left, leaving Hermione to stare after him, shocked. He'd given Gryffindor _points!_

Meanwhile, Greengrass leaned forward and inhaled the scent of the potion. She showed no emotion, and motioned for Hermione to smell it.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione leaned forward and sniffed the potion.

She didn't smell anything, just the aroma of the ingredients.

Greengrass was looking at her expectantly. "Well?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nothing."

Greengrass smiled slightly. "As expected."

"What?" asked Hermione, thoroughly confused. "Greengrass, I don't understand. Why did you ask me if I loved him then?"

"To aid the effects along. And by the way, you can address me as Daphne."

 **I'm glad Daphne's finally properly introduced! She's going to have a fairly major part. I think. I'm still working out the details of the story. *Grins sheepishly***


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you:**

 **Guest: Thanks! I'm excited for the Yule Ball as well!**

 **Analyn d'Ettore: In reply to your chapter 4 review-I'm glad you like it! And thanks for pointing that out, I'll change that!**

 **NekoDarkHeart: Omg! I LOVE tmi. And those love potions are pretty harmless, I think. Maybe I can add something about them!**

 **Guest: Well, here you go! Another update!**

 **Anything you recognize belongs to the amazing JK Rowling!**

As Hermione made her way up to the Astronomy tower, Green – no, _Daphne's_ – words ran through her head. _To aid in the effects,_ she'd said. The effects of what – her and Draco falling in love? She was sure it would happen someday.

"Hermione," greeted Draco, breaking into her thoughts.

"Draco," she replied with a smile.

He smirked. "I thought I'd take the liberty of asking you to the Yule Ball beforehand. Before you wet your knickers," he said, his smirk widening.

Hermione scoffed. "What makes you think I'll say yes?"

"I'm Draco Malfoy. You should be pleading to go with me to the ball," he said indifferently.

He was so arrogant. "If all you wanted was to boast about your good looks, I'm going. I'm sure you can find other people to brag to." She turned as if she were going to walk away.

Draco grabbed her arm. "Not so fast, my clever minx."

She looked at him, an innocent expression written across her features.

He scowled. "You're one of the only people who would dare walk away from me."

She laughed. "I know."

Suddenly he pulled her forward, so close that their noses were touching.

"I started fancying you in second year. I'm not about to let you get away because I'm being arrogant."

"Second year? You hated me in second year! You called me a mud -"

Draco kissed her. As usual, she responded immediately, their tongues clashing together in a battle of domination. He finally stopped for oxygen. "Don't say it."

"But you wanted me dead!"

He winced. "When you got petrified, I realized how close to death you were, and also realized that the extent of my feelings toward you were not hate, but jealousy. After second year, I realized how happy you were with Potter and Weasley, and I wondered what made me different. I often thought that if I had red hair or glasses, would you like me better?" He paused.

"Draco…"

He kissed her again, harder. "Will you go to the ball with me?"

"Yes," Hermione breathed.

He stepped back, and the moment was gone. "I told you that you would."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "You prat!" she exclaimed.

He smiled. "I'm a handsome prat," he replied.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You keep telling yourself that. Doesn't mean it's true."

"You're absolutely right. I'm not a prat, just handsome."

Hermione laughed. He was impossible. "Come on, we'd better get back."

"No, Blaise, we should decorate the Great Hall _blue_ and silver," argued Hermione.

Blaise disagreed. "Green and silver looks so much better."

"To a Slytherin!" she retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The other houses wouldn't want Slytherin colors. It's a Yule Ball; we have to make everyone happy!" she replied.

"But the house colors don't matter! It's just that green and silver look better!" he whined.

"There's still one Slytherin color," she rationalized.

Blaise looked unconvinced, but reluctantly agreed.

Hermione sighed, writing it down. "Finally."

There was a knock on the portrait.

" _Please_ let that not be Theo forgetting the password," muttered Hermione.

Just then, the portrait swung open. Theo walked in, beaming, with Daphne Greengrass behind him.

"Blaise! Hermione! Guess what? I knew the password and she didn't!" Theo cheered.

Daphne gazed at him neutrally. "I was never informed what the password was," she said, carefully picking smaller words.

Theo frowned for a minute, then brightened. "But I still knew it!"

Blaise facepalmed.

"What did you want, Daphne?" asked Hermione.

"Hey!" Theo protested. "What about what I want?"

Hermione waved her hand. "I'll get to you later."

Blaise covered up his laugh.

"Upon approaching the dorms my intention was to converse with Hermione," said Daphne.

There was silence.

"In private," Daphne clarified.

"Oh. In that case, let's go to my room," said Hermione.

As they entered, Hermione cast silencing spells.

"Hermione," said Daphne seriously, "It is imperative for you to be careful. It will not be interminable before Lucius Malfoy will have attained the knowledge of your relationship with Draco. In fact, I am surprised he has not already been notified."

Hermione had forgotten about Lucius Malfoy and his pureblood ideals. "Thanks for the warning," she said.

"Be attentive to what Draco says or does," she intoned. "You are the first girl he's obtained for more than a month."

"I trust him," Hermione said simply.

"I know. He's loved you for a while."

Hermione was taken aback. Loved her? Daphne had probably just slipped. Speaking of Daphne, the girl was quite confusing, always contradicting herself.

"Alright. I'll be careful," Hermione promised.

"And inform your friend, Ginny Weasley, to be careful."

"That I can't do," said Hermione. "Ginny knows what she's doing."

Daphne inclined her head. "Very well. My point has gotten across."

When they came out, Blaise and Theo were arguing.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"What are you arguing about?" asked Hermione.

They looked up in surprise.

Theo scratched his head. "I don't really remember," he said with a shrug. He turned to Blaise. "What were we arguing about?"

Blaise shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing."

Theo's jaw dropped open. " You mean you made me do all that thinking for nothing?"

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You have to think about saying 'no?'"

"As much as I would like to leave you to indulge in your petty controversy, I feel obligated to inform you that if Theo and I do not part with you soon, we may get seized by Filch," Daphne announced.

"Uh, can you please speak English?" asked Theo.

"Stop arguing or get caught by Filch," Hermione said.

"Oh!" said Theo. "That makes much more sense than what I thought she said."

Daphne was watching Theo, an emotion Hermione couldn't place in her eyes. She'd seen it before, but she couldn't remember where. Blaise was also observing the two of them.

"Poor Daphne," sighed Blaise after they left.

Hermione glanced at him questioningly.

"Didn't you see the look in her eyes?"

"Yes, but I didn't remember where I'd seen it before."

Blaise stared at her. "It's the same look Draco always gives to you," he said. "She's in love with Theo and he doesn't even notice."

"Draco doesn't love me."

Blaise gave her a look. "Yes he does. Just like I love Ginny."

She stared at him, speechless.

"He's so gentle with you, Hermione. He allows himself to be vulnerable. When you're not looking, he's always staring at you."

"But he…"

"Would do anything for you. He's loved you since fifth year, Hermione. And he's my best mate. Try to return the sentiment."

He left, leaving Hermione bewildered.

 **What's Blaise up to? I'd tell you, but, y'know, that would sorta ruin the point of suspense and that good story stuff.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you:**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: In reply to your chapter 8 review-Haha,I like Daphne too! And thanks! In reply to your chapter 9 review, you may be on to something... or are you?**

 **NekoDarkHeart: Thanks!**

 **Guest: I'm glad you liked it!**

 **Guest: Aw, thanks! And don't worry, it wasn't pointless!**

 **Guest: Well, here's the update!**

 **Guest: I'm glad you like it!**

 **patty cake rocks: Thanks!**

 **Guest: Aw, thanks!**

 **Yes, I am JK Rowling and I own Harry Potter. Now, if you believed that, I'm sure someone could direct you to the nearest hospital to get your head checked…**

"Drake, are you listening?" asked Theo, waving a hand in front of Draco's face.

Draco scowled, refocusing on the Head's common room and pushing Theo's hands away. "Sure."

"You gonna take Hermione to the Yule Ball?" he asked.

Draco rolled his eyes. "No, I'm taking Daphne."

Something flashed through Theo's eyes. Jealousy. "You are?"

"No, you nitwit, of course he's taking Hermione!" said Pansy, smacking Theo.

Theo rubbed his arm. "What is it with women and violence these days?"

Blaise snorted. "If you weren't so gullible, they wouldn't _need_ to be violent."

"Who are you taking, Theo?" asked Pansy, sensing a fight.

Theo grinned. "No clue. I told you, I'm staying as a bachelor."

Draco, Blaise, and Pansy all snorted simultaneously.

Theo frowned. "You didn't do that before. What changed?"

"Drop the act, Theo. We all know you've fallen in love with the Ice Queen," said Pansy, crossing her arms.

"Ice Queen?" asked Theo, looking thoroughly confused.

"Daphne Greengrass," huffed Pansy. "You know? The unpredictable one?"

"Oh!" said Theo.

Theo was just as much of a Slytherin as the rest of them.

"So, do you?" asked Draco.

Theo sighed. "She's just different," he conceded, quite quickly in Draco's opinion.

"Mate, I totally know how you feel," said Blaise. "At least you didn't have the misfortune of falling in love with one of those noble Gryffindors. Not to mention one of the most fiery ones."

"We're sounding like a bunch of Hufflepuffs," growled Draco. "Discussing feelings and the like."

Then what Blaise said registered in his mind, and he almost fell over the chair. "You love Ginny Weasley?!" he nearly shouted.

Blaise shrugged. "That's old news, Drake. Where have you _been_?"

Draco scowled, crossing his arms after regaining his composure. He still couldn't figure out what he did that made Blaise think he was allowed to make fun of him. He was a _Malfoy_ , for Merlin's sake.

"Seriously though, Theo, you'd better ask her out soon. Before someone else does," said Blaise.

"Like Pucey," said Pansy, shuddering. "He's _so_ creepy. Asked me out the other day, looked pissed when I said no."

"He's an asshole," said Blaise in disgust. "Saw him trying to flirt with Ginny yesterday."

"Who are you going with, Pansy?" asked Draco, changing the subject.

Pansy shrugged. "Currently, no one."

Blaise snickered. "Because she's waiting for a certain redhead to ask her, and everyone knows it."

Pansy blushed. "Shut it, Blaise."

"I probably should ask her soon," said Theo thoughtfully.

"Did you _just_ get that?" asked Pansy. "You're fifty years behind the conversation!"

"Hey!" Theo protested.

The portrait swung open, and Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Harry walked in.

"Well," said Blaise, "Let me show you how it's done, Theo." He got up, walked to Ginny, and asked, "Ginny, will you go to the ball with me?"

She laughed. "Of course, Blaise."

Blaise turned back to Theo. "See? It's that simple."

"Oh, so I just ask?" asked Theo, clueless as ever.

Draco smirked. "Weasley, why don't you demonstrate?"

Weasley shot him a glare. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"Comeback of the century," he mocked. Taunting him was just too hard to resist.

Hermione shot him a glare. _OK, maybe I have to resist._ He was so whipped.

However, he was not the only one who wanted Weasley to demonstrate. Potter nudged him. "Ron, go demonstrate."

"Oh, come on!" he complained. "Why is the world always against me?"

"Just go with it, mate," said Blaise, grinning.

Weasley groaned. He turned to Pansy. "Will you go to the ball with me?" he asked, the tips of his ears red.

Pansy nodded, blushing.

Draco smirked again. "Funny how you asked Pansy and not anyone else."

Hermione smacked him. "That's enough, Draco."

"What is it with you and smacking people?" he all but whined, rubbing his arm.

"I know, right?" Harry, Ron, and Blaise said simultaneously.

"That was creepy," commented Ginny.

There was a knock on the portrait.

Hermione walked over to open it.

Luna Lovegood stood on the other side. "Hello, Hermione."

"Hey, Luna," she replied. "How did you know where the common room was?"

"I followed the wrackspurts," she replied dreamily.

"Oh… okay," said Hermione, looking flustered. "Do you want to come in?"

Blaise grinned. "This is like 'ask someone to the Yule Ball day,'" he said, shooting a look at Potter. "Coincidence that Lovegood came in, am I right?"

"Ha ha, Blaise," said Potter sarcastically. "Very funny." He crossed his arms.

"I know," said Blaise. "That's why I said it."

Ginny put her hands on her hips. "Behave."

"Better listen to her. Almost as scary as mum gets when she's mad," Weasley mumbled.

Hermione nudged Potter. "Go on, Harry."

"Come on, Potter," drawled Draco. "Not scared, are you?"

Flushing, Potter stood up and awkwardly went over to Lovegood.

"Hello Harry," she said airily.

"Luna. I was wondering if you'd like to… accompany me… to the ball," he said, blushing. Draco rolled his eyes. The Boy Who Lived was scared of asking a girl to the Yule Ball.

"Of course, Harry. That's why I came. The Blibbering Humdingers gave me the feeling you had something important to tell me," she explained. Blaise snorted. Potter glared at him. Blaise lifted his arms in mock surrender.

"Why am I always the last one?" asked Theo.

"Because you're Theo," said Weasley.

"That makes no sense," Theo informed him.

"I know," Weasley replied.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

Lovegood blinked, oblivious to the awkward silence that had settled across the group.

Draco took the opportunity to kiss Hermione. She let out a squeak of surprise, and he forced open her mouth, but before they could kiss any more, Blaise pulled Hermione away. "Can't you two control yourselves?" he groaned, not for the first time. "Honestly, at least Ginny and I keep what we do to the bedroom," he said, smirking at a blushing Little Weasley.

Weasley's face turned red. Pansy quickly put a placating hand on Weasley's arm. "Calm down," she muttered. Surprisingly enough, he complied. Draco smirked. Interesting.

"We'd better go," said Potter, standing up. "Or we'll get caught by Filch."

Weasley muttered his agreement.

Draco sighed internally. If only he was Head Boy. He could only imagine what he'd do to Hermione every night…

As if sensing what he was thinking, Hermione reached up and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. It was sweet, but a little too short for his liking.

"See you tomorrow," she said in her soft angelic voice.

"Love you," he mumbled before he could stop himself. His eyes widened, horrified, and he saw Hermione's shocked expression. He'd almost _never_ said those words in his head, much less aloud, and she didn't even return the feeling! Before she could say anything, he was out the door, making his way to the Slytherin dorms. _How could I have been so careless? I've probably scared her away,_ he thought. He didn't want to face her tomorrow.

 **He's finally admitted it! To Hermione! Yay! However, I have a lot more to add to this story. There's probably going to be at least 10-15 more chapters. Again, I would tell you what will happen if I could… I mean, I can, but… ugh. You know what I mean.**

 **I'm going to be at an overnight camp for a week, so I won't be able to update until, like, the 16th. Because they don't allow electronics there. Sigh. Maybe I should smuggle my computer there.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you:**

 **patty cake rocks: Haha yes he just did!**

 **NekoDarkHeart: I know! Like can I just steal him?**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: Wow that was a long review! But that's a good thing! I loved that feedback, and I'm glad you can live with my pairings, I thought about them for awhile. And thanks, I had so much fun!**

 **Guest: Oh, that's great! Thank goodness, I wasn't sure if you all would like them all!**

 **Me being creative enough to write Harry Potter is about as likely as you being a cat is. Unless you are a cat… but then you wouldn't be able to read this… so I wouldn't offend anyone… I confused myself. I think I got the point across.**

 **I've decided to skip straight to the Yule Ball, partly because I have nothing else to write about, and partly because I can. And the Draco-Hermione confrontation thing wouldn't be able to take up a whole chapter.**

"How do I look?" asked Ginny, twirling around so Hermione could see her.

"Gorgeous as always, Gin," she replied warmly, pulling on her own dress self-consciously. She thought about how Draco would look, and felt a smile rising just thinking about him. She remembered the day after he admitted he loved her.

" _Draco, are you avoiding me?" demanded an angry Hermione as she marched up to Draco in the hallway._

 _His eyes widened and he attempted to walk away, but she grasped his arm. "You are_ not _leaving until I get some answers!" she cried._

" _Hermione…" he began, his voice pained._

 _She softened immediately, seeing his distressed state. "Are you alright?"_

 _He reached forward, pulling her toward him. "I'm sorry," he said in a rush. "I shouldn't have told you that I loved you, we've only been together for less than two months, and they just slipped out, and I…"_

 _Hermione silenced him with a kiss. As usual, Draco responded immediately, his tongue running across her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She granted it instantly, and his tongue pushed against her mouth. She let out a small moan, and felt his hands running across her back. Her hands had somehow would up in his hair._

 _Draco broke the kiss and took in a breath. "I don't expect you to feel the same…"_

" _Draco, would you stop apologizing!" cried Hermione in frustration. "I love you, I don't know how it's possible to fall in love within two months, but goddammit, I do, but you wouldn't give me the chance to tell you!" Or maybe Ginny had been right, and Hermione had been in denial._

 _He gazed down at her, elation written across his features. "You love me?" he murmured in shock, and before she could reassure him, he reached down and kissed her, letting out a groan as Hermione's hands roamed across his chest. She smiled against his lips. Arrogant, confident Draco was so much better than unsure Draco._

"Hermione!" cried Lavender, jolting her back to the present. "We've got to do your makeup!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. There was still a good three hours until the ball, and Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati had insisted on dragging her to get her ready two hours ago. They'd done a great job on her hair, which fell to her elbows in beautiful, glossy curls. Now they were working on her face. Forty-five minutes later, Hermione was finally allowed to look at her reflection, and she stared, speechless. She looked unrecognizable, yet the same Hermione. Her eyes had light green eye shadow, which matched her dark green dress that showed off all of her curves. Her eyelashes curled beautifully, framing her eyes perfectly. Her lips looked red and full.

"'Mione, you look beautiful!" beamed Ginny.

"Malfoy had better control himself tonight," giggled Parvati.

"All the boys are going to be _so_ jealous!" sighed Lavender. "As long as Seamus isn't jealous, I'm fine."

Hermione was content to sit and wait for the other three girls to beautify themselves. She was reading when she felt herself being jerked to her feet. "Come on, Hermione! We've got to go!" cried Ginny.

Hermione soon found herself waiting for Blaise at the entrance of the Great Hall. As Heads, they were required to start the ball with a dance.

"What is a beautiful lady like yourself doing alone tonight?" asked Blaise, approaching her.

Hermione laughed. "I have to dance with a very self–centered Slytherin before I am allowed to go find my partner."

Blaise smirked. "I'm positive your first dance partner is self–centered for a reason. Very handsome, I'm sure."

Smiling, Hermione took his outstretched hand and they entered the Great Hall together.

Hermione couldn't contain her gasp as they went in. The prefects had decorated the hall according to her and Blaise's plans, and it looked gorgeous. The walls were blue with silver swirls, and there were icicles hanging from the ceiling. There was a light drizzle of snow throughout the air. The floor was ice, but charmed to not be slippery. The music started, so she and Blaise started to twirl around.

"I still think green and silver would've looked better," he commented.

"Shut it. It looks _amazing_ in here," she sighed.

"The prefects _did_ do a good job," he agreed. Eventually they were allowed to switch partners, and Hermione found Draco with Pansy.

"Mind if I cut in?" asked Hermione.

Pansy laughed. "I've got to go find Ron. He's eating," she said, rolling her eyes.

"You look breathtaking," said Draco, pulling her against him.

"You too," breathed Hermione. He looked a lot like he had on their first date.

"I know," he replied smugly, spinning her on the dance floor.

She scoffed.

"Sneaky minx," he murmured. "You wore Slytherin green just to tempt me, didn't you?"

Hermione smirked. She saw Draco's eyes darken with lust. "You've already got the Malfoy smirk down. You'll make a fine Malfoy," he said, kissing her.

Hermione drew back and stared at him in surprise. "Me, a Malfoy?" she asked.

He stared at her in surprise. "Of course. You didn't think I'd break up with you, did you?"

Hermione was speechless.

"I'm not proposing," he said quickly. "I just need to know that you'll marry me someday."

Hermione found her voice. "Your parents…"

"Can go screw themselves. Besides, my mother doesn't care."

"Your inheritance…"

"I don't need it. I have money from the Black side of the family. Besides, I'm not going to give you up for money."

"Us… wedding?" she stammered.

He raised an eyebrow. "Merlin, woman, how many times must I repeat myself? I love you, therefore I want to marry you."

Hermione kissed him. They stopped dancing as Draco caressed her lips sweetly, hands on her hips. She asked for entrance, pushing her tongue between his lips. He kissed her back with the same amount of ferocity, finally breaking the kiss for air.

"I love you," she breathed. He pressed his forehead to hers. His quicksilver eyes bore into hers. "I bet I love you more," he said.

"Mind if I cut in?" asked Harry. Draco looked up, annoyed, but gave a curt nod, and Hermione grinned, leaving to dance with Harry.

"He really loves you, 'Mione," beamed Harry. "I can't believe it."

Hermione's eyes sparkled. "Where's Luna?"

"Off to find nargles," said Harry, rolling his eyes affectionately.

Hermione laughed. "That's Luna for you," she sighed.

"Thinking about him?" asked Harry after a few moments of silence. Hermione blushed.

"I bet you'll be married before this time next year," he said.

Hermione blushed harder. "We won't even be twenty, Harry. Besides, we can wait."

"Knowing Malfoy, he won't be able to wait," muttered Harry. "Well, looks like my time's up," he said, nodding towards Ron, who was walking towards them.

Hermione had a great number of dance partners after that: Neville, Theo (after that she took a short break), Seamus, Ernie Macmillan, and she finally landed back to Draco. Just then, a muggle song came up. Recognizing the song, Hermione blushed.

She and Draco danced wordlessly, listening to the lyrics.

 _Heart beats fast_

 _Colors and promises_

 _How to be brave_

 _How can I love when I'm afraid to fall_

 _But watching you stand alone_

 _All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_

 _One step closer_

 _I have died everyday waiting for you_

 _Darling don't be afraid_

 _I have loved you for a thousand years_

 _I'll love you for a thousand more_

Hermione sighed against Draco's chest, content. He kissed the top of her head.

 _Time stands still_

 _Beauty in all she is_

 _I will be brave_

 _I will not let anything take away_

 _What's standing in front of me_

 _Every breath, every hour has come to this_

 _One step closer_

 _I have died everyday waiting for you_

 _Darling don't be afraid_

 _I have loved you for a thousand years_

 _I'll love you for a thousand more_

 _And all along I believed I would find you_

 _Time has brought your heart to me_

 _I have loved you for a thousand years_

 _I'll love you for a thousand more_

Hermione closed her eyes, inhaling Draco's scent. "I love you," she murmured.

Draco said nothing, but clutched her closer, as if letting her go would make her disappear forever.

 _One step closer_

 _One step closer_

 _I have died everyday waiting for you_

 _Darling don't be afraid_

 _I have loved you for a thousand years_

 _I'll love you for a thousand more_

 _And all along I believed I would find you_

 _Time has brought your heart to me_

 _I have loved you for a thousand years_

 _I'll love you for a thousand more_

Hermione felt as if she could stay like that forever, her head on Draco's chest, her eyes closed.

"I love you too," Draco finally replied. Hermione lifted her head and looked up. Draco lowered his head and kissed her gently, as if they had all the time in the world. And maybe they did.

 **I am such a hopeless romantic. But I really like this chapter. And I would hope that you know the muggle song… it's one of my favorites!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you:**

 **EternalVeritie (Guest): I'm glad you like it!  
**

 **Guest: Thanks!**

 **Jily71102: Thank you so much! :)**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: Thank goodness! And I didn't even think of that! And don't worry, I've got it planned out!**

 **Guest: Oh. Haha, my vocabulary isn't the best. The big words were, as you pointed out, different from what I thought they meant, and it's just that. I think they mean what I'm trying to convey what Daphne's saying. Thanks for telling me, but honestly I've got no problem continuing with how I'm going now, and I think that if no one else seems to care, I'll just keep going with my current method. Unless it really, really, really bothers you. Then I'll look into your suggestion! Again, thanks for the constructive** **criticism!**

 **If I owned Harry Potter, then there would be no need for this story because Draco and Hermione would be together!**

Draco caught the letters the owl dropped, recognizing his father's owl instantly. He had a feeling he knew what the first letter was about. He would know his father's writing anywhere.

Ripping open the seal, his eyes skimmed it anxiously. It was short and to the point.

 _Draco,_

 _I must say that I am disappointed in you. Hermione Granger, a mudblood, out of all people? Nonetheless, I am requesting for you to bring her to the Manor over Christmas break. I suppose it is better that she is a powerful witch. Don't get used to me complimenting her._

The note was unsigned. Draco exhaled in relief. At least his father hadn't threatened Hermione. He wasn't sure Hermione would want to go to the Manor, however. He opened the other letter, which was from his mother.

 _Dear Draco,_

 _Whatever your father has told you, ignore him. He loves you, and will get used to the girl – Hermione Granger, is it? I hope you will bring her to the Manor soon; I look forward to meeting her so I can start planning the wedding. The Manor is in dire need of another female to keep order around the house._

 _Wedding_? Draco rolled his eyes in disbelief. Narcissa was so overdramatic. Maybe that was why she and Blaise liked each other so much. Draco sighed. He really didn't have a choice – he hoped Hermione wouldn't mind going to the Malfoy Manor. But then she would meet his mother – and, being so alike, they would either hate each other, which was bad, or they would love each other and team up against him and his father, which was worse.

"Hey! Draco!" called Theo, waving his hand in front of Draco's face. "You've been staring at space for five minutes!"

Blaise snatched the letters and read them before Draco could do anything.

"Well, Lucius isn't threatening to kill her or anything. This is good!" beamed Blaise.

Theo peered over Blaise's shoulder. "Wow, you and Hermione are moving fast," he commented. "Wedding?"

Draco groaned. "Tell me about it. Mother is so dramatic."

"That's why I like her," nodded Blaise.

Theo nudged him. "You'd better go tell Granger the _great news_ ," he said, stressing 'great news' way longer than necessary.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "That's gonna go well. 'Hey, Hermione, my parents want you to cancel any plans you might have to come to Malfoy Manor!'"

Draco glared at him. "You're not helping."

"I'm not supposed to be helping," Blaise replied cheerfully.

Draco scoffed, getting up and leaving to go find Hermione.

He finally managed to locate her in the library, feeling like hitting himself for not realizing before. He sat down next to her, grabbing her book and kissing her. She started, pulling back in surprise.

"Draco, give me back my book!" she demanded in a whisper. He smirked.

"What'll you do if I don't?" he challenged.

She scowled, and he flipped through the book, smirking. "What on earth are you looking at a Transfiguration book for? The essay's not due for another month or so," he drawled.

"Draco!" she hissed. "Be _quiet_ , we're in–" He ignored her, swooping in for another kiss.

"Library, Madam Pince might kick you out!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Only _you_ would be trying to finish your sentence while someone's kissing you, Hermione," he said mockingly, but with a teasing tone.

She crossed her arms defensively.

"Hermione," he said, more serious now, "what are you doing over the break?"

She frowned. "Not much. I'm going to the Burrow for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but other than that I'm going home."

"Will you come with me to the Manor? Not for long," he added quickly, seeing her expression, "but a day or two. My parents want to meet you, especially my mother."

Her eyebrow rose. "You want me to go to Malfoy Manor?" she asked incredulously. "Where _Lucius Malfoy_ lives? In case you've forgotten, he hates me."

"I won't let him touch you," Draco promised.

Hermione looked torn. "Alright, I guess," she surrendered. "For one day."

Draco exhaled, not realizing he had been holding his breath. "Thank you," he told her.

Hermione smiled at him radiantly. "Anything for you," she said softly.

"You wouldn't need to try that hard, Hermione, I'd love you anyway," he replied.

Hermione smiled, leaning up to him. She smirked suddenly. "I know," she replied, her grin growing wider.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Sneaky little minx," he said without any real malice.

She danced away from him, grabbing her books and walking quickly towards the entrance of the library. He got up at once to follow her, muttering under his breath. Just as she exited, he caught her, spinning her around into a kiss. She let out a gasp of surprise, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Eventually he let go, staring into her cinnamon eyes. She smiled up at him, and they stayed like that for a moment until Hermione broke the silence.

"We'd better get back," she told him. "Harry, Ron, and Ginny will be wondering where I went soon."

Draco groaned. "Do we have to? Let them worry."

" _Draco,_ " she insisted.

"Fine," he sulked.

"You are so spoiled," she laughed.

He all but growled at her. Unfortunately for him, he soon found himself entering the Gryffindor common room with her, ignoring the stares from the other Gryffindors.

"There," Hermione said, nodding towards her friends, two of whom were playing a game of wizard's chess. Ginny was watching.

Draco rolled his eyes. "See, we didn't have to come back."

But Hermione was already walking briskly towards her two friends. With another roll of his eyes Draco followed her.

"Checkmate," said Weasley, grinning. Potter let out a groan.

"Why do you always win?" Potter muttered, as his king surrendered his sword.

"You should be used to it by now, mate, we've been playing for seven years," replied Weasley with a grin.

"Exactly," replied Potter. "You'd think after seven years I would've won at least once."

Draco snorted in amusement. It was, to be frank, quite hilarious how the Boy Who Lived couldn't beat Weasley in a game.

Hermione gave him a withering glare, correctly guessing why he had found her friend's statement funny.

Draco watched Potter and Weasley bicker about wizard's chess, and it was then that he realized that he had forgotten all about his revenge on Weasley.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you:**

 **Jily71102: I sure hope it's interesting!**

 **Flavia Jackson: Haha, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon!**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: That's good! I hope my portrayal of her doesn't disappoint. And as for Lucius, that's for you to find out!**

 **After much pondering, I have decided to write about Hermione's stay at Malfoy Manor before her time at the Burrow, as I think they would both be equally fun to write about.**

 **Maybe I'll get Harry Potter rights for my birthday, but that is highly doubtful.**

Hermione was waiting in her room. Draco had told her that a house elf would come for her, ignoring her pointed glare when he mentioned the elf.

She'd told her parents, of course, and they were both a little hesitant, as Hermione had ranted about the Malfoys during her previous years. In the end, they let her go, knowing she could take care of herself.

Just then, a house elf apparated into the room. Even though she had been expecting it, she started.

"Pokey is sorry for scaring Miss!" the house elf squeaked. "Pokey did not mean any harm!"

Hermione smiled. "That's alright," she told her. She then realized that Pokey was wearing a small dress. "That's a very nice dress, Pokey," she said.

Pokey beamed. "Master Draco is so kind! He brings Pokey pretty clothes!" Pokey held out her arm. "Master asked Pokey to bring Miss Hermione to the Manor!"

Hermione took Pokey's hand, and they apparated to the Manor.

"Come, Miss! Master Draco told Pokey to bring Miss to him!" Hermione followed Pokey through the Manor. It was very dark, but it was decorated beautifully.

Pokey opened a door to show Draco, whose face lighted up when he saw Hermione.

"Hermione," he greeted. He turned to address the house elf. "Thank you, Pokey, for bringing her."

"Anything for Master Draco!" she cried enthusiastically. "Does Master need anything else?"

"Not now, Pokey," he replied, and she disapparated.

Hermione turned to him. "She's wearing clothes," she said, a little shocked.

He smirked. "And you were so mad when I told you I was sending a house elf to get you."

She narrowed her eyes. "You planned it," she accused.

"I did no such thing," he said innocently.

She growled at him, and he laughed, bending down to kiss her. He pulled away after a few moments. "You've got to meet my parents now."

She groaned. "Do I have to? And you know, technically I've already met your father."

Draco rolled his eyes. "That doesn't count." He knew she was talking about the beginning of their second year.

Hermione pouted. "Fine."

Draco led her through the winding hallways to another room. He didn't bother knocking, instead just opening the door to show Narcissa Malfoy.

She looked up, annoyed. "Draco, darling, why didn't you knock? You should remember your manners." She then smiled at Hermione. "You must be Hermione! Oh, Draco, you didn't tell me she grew up so nicely!" Narcissa had made her way over to them.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione greeted politely, blushing at Narcissa's comment.

"Call me Narcissa, dear. Now, we simply must get Lucius, have you seen him, Draco?"

Draco shook his head.

Meanwhile, Hermione was in shock. Who knew Narcissa Malfoy could be so… lively? And the woman had an air of authority around her, not to mention how regal she looked.

"Honey!" she called. Another house elf appeared, also dressed.

"What can Honey get Miss Malfoy?" asked the house elf.

"Go find Lucius for me, will you?" As soon as her words were spoken Honey disapparated. She came back a couple moments later with Lucius Malfoy, looking as collected as ever.

"Miss Granger," he said, barely covering up a sneer. "What a pleasant surprise."

Hermione felt Draco's hand tighten on her shoulder.

"Mr. Malfoy," she greeted politely.

Narcissa seemed to sense Draco's annoyance for his father. "Come, Hermione, I'll show you around the Manor," she decided. Hermione nodded and followed Narcissa out of the room.

"I'm very sorry for Lucius's behavior," Narcissa told her. "I'll have a talk with him later."

"That's alright," Hermione replied. "I'm just surprised he didn't try to hex me. He didn't even insult me," she pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose," said Narcissa. "But anyway, how is Draco treating you?"

"Like a gentleman," she said with a smile. "However, sometimes I do need to put him back in his place. Especially when he's being too egotistical."

Narcissa let out a laugh. "Yes, Malfoy men tend to do that," she agreed. "And they're also overly spoiled."

"That too," said Hermione.

Narcissa laughed. "And we are there to put them back in their place," she said, using Hermione's words from earlier.

They were now in the garden, and as Hermione admired the flowers, Narcissa grew more serious. "Hermione, do you love Draco?"

"I do," said Hermione, turning back to face her. "Why?"

"I think you'll be good for him," said Narcissa. "But please, Hermione, don't break his heart."

"I won't, Narcissa," she said. "I promise."

"That's good," the older woman said. "Draco's been let down too many times already."

Hermione looked at her questioningly.

"Draco was never good enough for Lucius," she began. "Mostly because Draco could never beat you." She smiled. "He told me he had a crush on you back in his second year."

Hermione had known this, but she hadn't known that he had told his mother.

"Every time Lucius cursed your name, your blood, I could tell Draco was hurt. He learned to conceal it from Lucius, but I could still see it. He didn't defend himself, and you, till his fourth year. During Christmas Break. Because, he told me, you outshone all the pureblooded girls there, during the Yule Ball. And he couldn't understand why Lucius insisted that purebloods were better. He stopped using that word. And in his fifth year, he finally stood up to Lucius, and I was so proud of him." Narcissa paused. "Lucius learned to accept it, that purebloods and Muggleborns are of the same equality. He still is learning. Give him time, and soon he will be doting on you like a loving father."

Hermione frowned. She couldn't see Lucius being loving, much less being loving to her.

"Thank you for sharing this with me, Narcissa," she said, regardless.

 **I have no idea why I added Narcissa's speech there. It seemed okay, so I'm just leaving it there. And I, personally, think Narcissa is boss. A little OOC, but that's okay.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I almost broke my updating streak! But, here I am, 15 minutes to midnight. Where I live anyway. This chapter starts off from where we left off the last chapter when Draco and his father are in the study.**

 **Thank you:**

 **NekoDarkHeart: Thanks! And Narcissa is obviously very OOC, glad you like her!**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: That's great! I'm glad you like everything!**

 **hp and stargirl: Yep, you're spot on! I'm trying to keep this story light, and the Malfoys are extremely OOC, but to keep the lightness I did it. And you're right, Lucius was horrible to Dobby, but I can't stand the fact that they would be treated badly! And sorry, forgot about that in the last chapter, but I revised it here! And I'm happy that you think the story's good!**

 **I wish I owned Harry Potter. But unfortunately my name is not JK Rowling. So I don't.**

Draco glared at his father.

"Don't look at me like that, Draco," snapped Lucius. "I cannot believe you brought the Mud-"

"Don't call her that." Draco's voice was low, threatening. "You said you were over your pureblood ideals. That is obviously not true. And I will not let you harm one hair on her head."

Lucius seemed a little surprised with Draco. "You… actually care about her."

"I _love_ her, Father. And I don't care if you approve or not. And I don't care if you disown me. She is the best thing that has happened to me, and I don't plan on letting her go. I will make this clear for you right now, and you can say what you will to me, but don't hurt her," hissed Draco. "I will marry her one day, Father. I don't need your approval."

Lucius's eye glinted. "Calm yourself, Draco. I do not care if you love Miss Granger or not."

That caught him off guard. "What?"

Lucius's lip twitched. "Did you really think that I hadn't thought of the fact that if you truly cared about her, you wouldn't have let me call her that word? Did you really think I still believed I held power over you? You opened my eyes, Draco, that day back in your fifth year. And I must say that Miss Granger is quite a powerful witch, and besides, Narcissa has taken a liking to her and would be furious with me if I didn't get along with the girl."

Draco stared at his father in total shock.

Lucius frowned. "I hope you do not wear that look of stupidity often, Draco. It doesn't fit you."

Draco glared at his father. "But – you don't care that I'm in love with a Muggleborn?"

Lucius scoffed. "You are my son, Draco. I want you happy. And if Miss Granger makes you happy, then I can't do anything about it."

"Father," said Draco, still shocked, "if you were only calling her that word to get me mad, why did you also say it in the letter you sent me?"

Lucius frowned. "She is what she is, Draco. And I was not saying it to get you mad, Draco. I was saying it to get you to admit you loved her."

After a few moments of silence, Lucius stood up. "Let's go find this future wife of yours, Draco," he said, "and let us hope that Narcissa has not talked her to death." Without checking to see if Draco was following, he walked out of the room.

They managed to locate the two women in the gardens, where Narcissa was telling Hermione Draco's baby stories.

"-and once he had a stuffed animal dog, of course Lucius was horrified that he had it, but it was adorable, Draco slept with it tucked under his arm every night-"

"Mother!" cried Draco, his cheeks flaming.

Narcissa looked up. "Draco! Lucius!" she said, smiling.

Hermione had walked over to Draco, frowning suspiciously at Lucius. Draco couldn't blame her.

"Don't worry, Hermione, he won't hurt you," he whispered. "We had an… understanding of sorts."

She nodded but did not take her eyes off him.

Lucius noticed. He strode over to them. "Miss Granger," he said. "I apologize for my behavior earlier. It was unacceptable."

Hermione gaped at him in surprise, but recovered and smiled. "That's alright, Mr. Malfoy," she replied.

"Dinner should be ready soon," Narcissa announced, ushering them back into the house.

Draco watched Hermione's eyes widen as she was seated their huge dining table. Then he saw her eyes narrow at the food.

"Relax, Hermione, these house elves are paid," he smirked.

"Oh, yes, Draco came back from his fourth year and asked us to free all of our house elves and employ them instead," said Narcissa.

Hermione stared at Draco in surprise. Draco glared at his mother. "Mother, if you tell Hermione any more stories about when I was younger-"

Hermione laughed. "Draco, you were adorable back then," she said cheekily.

Draco scowled.

"So, Hermione, what do your parents do?" asked Narcissa.

"They're dentists," said Hermione.

"Is that a dangerous profession in the muggle world?" asked Narcissa interestedly.

"Uh, no," Hermione replied with a small smile. "They clean people's teeth."

"What do you want to do when you graduate?" Narcissa asked her.

Hermione smiled. "I want to be a Healer," she said.

"Do you-"

"For Merlin's sake, Cissy, do give the girl some space," said Lucius with a roll of his eyes.

Narcissa glared at him. "I don't want Hermione to feel uncomfortable in our home," she pointed out.

"That doesn't mean you bombard her with questions," said Lucius.

Draco saw Hermione's amused expression. "Are they always like this?" she asked quietly as the adults continued arguing.

"Usually, yes," he answered.

Hermione laughed, but then Narcissa, who had apparently won the argument, said to her, "Hermione, you should come over again soon, we can start going over wedding plans."

Hermione's eyes widened. "I'm – I'm only seventeen-"

Narcissa waved her hand. "The wedding will take at least a year to plan."

Hermione shot a helpless look at Draco, who just smirked. He knew there was no getting out of this conversation. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his father smirk as well, apparently thinking the same thing.

"Shouldn't we wait until we're twenty something at least-" Hermione began.

"Nonsense! Lucius and I got married at eighteen."

"Well – can we at least have a small wedding?"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow. "Malfoys do not have small weddings."

"But technically I'm not a Malfoy until the end of the ceremony," Hermione pointed out.

It was hard to tell who would win this argument. Narcissa and Hermione were the two most stubborn women he knew.

"Draco is a Malfoy," she said.

"Actually, I think I would rather have a small wedding," Draco interjected. He smirked inwardly at Narcissa's glare. _That's for telling all the embarrassing baby stories._

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "We can discuss this later."

 **I don't care what you people say, I absolutely love Narcissa. Who agrees with me? And maybe I'll share more of Draco's baby stories. Maybe. But how was that chapter?**


	15. Chapter 15

**THank you:**

 **PotterWatchBrigade: That's good!**

 **NekoDarkHeart: Yeah, I'm going to have fun with that!**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: I know, I love her! And Lucius as well! And yes, I completely agree. Dramione is amazing. And thanks!**

 **PenguinGirl94: Draco Malfoy is definitely a twerp, haha! And I wish he were my twerp. But he belongs to Hermione. *sigh* And in reply to your chapter 12 review, that didn't occur to me! I'll probably add in your suggestion in another chapter!**

 **I only own my personal copy of Harry Potter books. Which, I might add, are nearly destroyed from being read so much.**

Hermione stepped out of the Floo into the Burrow. As usual, it was filled with activity. All the Weasleys were already there, along with Harry, Luna, Fleur, Angelina Johnson, who was Fred's girlfriend, and, to Hermione's immense surprise, Blaise.

"Hermione!" shrieked Ginny, enveloping her in a tight hug. Hermione was next attacked- sorry, embraced- by Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Harry, Fred, and George, all at once. Ginny, unable to move out of the way, got squashed in the middle of it.

"Fred, let go of my hair!" cried George.

"I haven't got your hair, you moron!"

"You're stepping on my foot!" snapped Ron.

"Am not!" Harry replied indignantly.

"George! You just elbowed me!" screeched Ginny.

"Sorry, thought that was Fred!"

"You're the one who's his twin, I don't even look like him!"

"Get off my foot!" yelled Harry.

Hermione finally managed to untangle herself from the mess. The other Weasleys were watching with identical expressions of amusement.

Hermione laughed as Ginny sent her a death glare.

Fred managed to get out, pushing Ginny over in the process.

"Get off me, you big oaf!"

"Hey! George is fatter than me!"

"I heard that!"

The rest of them finally separated themselves. George shuddered. "That was the weirdest hug in history," he declared.

Bill snickered. Charlie was already laughing his head off. Fleur, Angelina, Luna, and Blaise were beyond saving now; laughing so hard they were holding their stomachs. Mr. Weasley was grinning, and even Percy was trying to suppress a smile.

Hermione burst into laughter at the look on Ron and Harry's faces.

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes halfheartedly. Fred and George were guffawing, holding each other for support. Ginny scowled, crossing her arms, but soon gave in and started laughing.

"Alright," said Mrs. Weasley, gasping for breath. "Our other guests should be here soon."

Hermione looked in surprise, seeing many confused expressions on the other people's faces. Just then, Pansy Parkinson stepped out of the Floo.

Fred and George raised their eyebrow at the exact same time, creepily enough.

Bill and Charlie almost choked on the beverages they were drinking.

Then Draco Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace.

Fred and George's eyebrows nearly disappeared into their hair.

Bill and Charlie actually choked on their drinks.

Draco smirked at the immobilized room.

Hermione rolled her eyes. He liked the attention, the git.

Molly Weasley broke the silence.

"Draco, Pansy, dears, you look so thin! Don't worry, I'm going to make a lot of food," she said.

"Not to be rude or anything," began Harry, "but what are they doing here?"

Mrs. Weasley beamed. "I always invite everyone's dates," she replied.

Fred smirked. "Wow, Ronniekins, didn't know you had it in you," he said.

Ron blushed.

"I'm personally more surprised our Hermione is with the ferret," grinned George.

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"I didn't believe it at first," Fred agreed.

The twins slung their arms around Hermione's shoulders. She saw Draco's eyes narrow slightly.

"You better treat her well, Malfoy-"

"Or we'll come after you-"

"Along with the rest of the family-"

"And _crucio_ you-"

"And make sure you can't have little Malfoys-"

"And then we'll kill you," finished George.

Draco gulped in surprise, much to Hermione's amusement.

"Alright, I'm going to start cooking dinner now, keep yourselves entertained," said Mrs. Weasley, disappearing into the kitchen.

"This is weird," hissed Draco into Hermione's ear.

Everyone had started doing what they had been doing before, so Hermione could barely hear him over the noise.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Draco smirked. "I wanted to surprise you. But imagine my surprise when I received that letter from Molly Weasley. And my father's expression when I told him I was going to the Weasleys' for the afternoon." He leaned down to capture her lips, and she happily obliged.

"Cut it out!" cried George, coming over. "My poor eyes!"

Fred grinned. "George's just jealous that he can't find a girl to do that to him."

"Am not."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Come on, Malfoy, you want to see some of our newest products?"

Draco narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Sure."

"Come on, Malfoy," said the twins with identical evil grins.

Hermione was chatting happily with Luna when Ron shouted out, "Why, Malfoy, would you go with Fred and George alone?!"

Hermione looked up. Draco's face was covered in red and gold stripes, with a Gryffindor lion on each cheek. His clothes were also red and gold, with the word GRYFFINDOR across his chest. On each side of him stood a grinning Fred and George, dragging him further into the room.

"This is not funny," he spat.

"Oh, come on, Malfoy, this is payback for every time you cheated in quidditch-"

"Which was a lot of times-"

"So this is actually very light revenge," said Fred.

"Which means you should watch your back," said George.

Ginny giggled. "Your boyfriend looks great," she told Hermione.

Hermione laughed. "I know," she replied.

The charm stayed for the rest of the afternoon, and Draco's clothes and face finally turned back into their normal color.

"I shall never let you forget that, Drake," sniggered Blaise.

Draco glared at him.

"Dinner's ready!" called Mrs. Weasley from the kitchen.

There was a thunder of footsteps as all the Weasley men ran to the table.

"Oh, yes. The Weasley appetite," laughed Pansy.

Mrs. Weasley had never made more food. There was barely enough room for all the dishes, much less all the plates. Hermione ate until she felt like she was going to burst, and clearly she wasn't the only one.

"That was amazing, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione.

"Yes, it was," agreed Pansy. "That was one of the best meals in my life."

"You really did outdo yourself this year, Mum," said Ron, who was still eating.

Molly waved her hand. "It was my pleasure."

After the meal, Molly announced, "All the children attending Hogwarts-"

Ron and Ginny interrupted her. "Have to clean up the table," they finished.

Hermione laughed at the expression on Draco, Blaise, and Pansy's faces.

"Are we allowed to use magic?" asked Blaise despairingly.

"Absolutely not. You are not all of age yet," Molly said sternly.

"Good thing we've got four extra helpers, with all the dishes we've got to do," said Harry.

"Yeah, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and I had to do it all before you guys joined us," said Ron.

"The year Fred and George graduated – well, not really, but stopped going to school – was horrible," complained Ginny. "They kept popping in to gloat."

Hermione burst out laughing as Draco held a plate, unsure of what to do with it.

"Draco, you can help me with washing off the plates," she said.

The eight of them did it assembly line style. Hermione and Draco washed the plates off, Harry and Ron soaped them, Luna and Pansy washed off the soap, Blaise dried them off, and Ginny put them back into the right cabinets.

Draco and Blaise complained loudly about physical labor, especially without wands.

Thankfully, they were finished after over an hour.

"That was _horrible_!" cried Blaise. "Work! Agh!"

Ginny glared. "At least you only have to do it this one year," she snapped.

"Actually, it's highly doubtful, as Ginny and Luna will be the only ones going to Hogwarts, so we'll probably have to help," said Harry.

"Hey, but then we'll have magic," said Ron.

Blaise moaned. Ginny crossed her arms. "Stop being such a baby," she said.

"I am not!"

Hermione giggled, leaning into Draco as Ginny and Blaise continued to bicker.

 **Wow, this was longer than expected! I'm going to have to have another chapter for Christmas. Do you think it should be in Draco's point of view or Hermione's?**


	16. Chapter 16

**I've decided (with the help of people's reviews) to write this chapter in Draco's point of view!**

 **Thank you:**

 **Guest: Haha, ok, they'll be popping up in other chapters of the story!**

 **NekoDarkHeart: I think I'll have a little fun with Blaise and work!  
Lala-rainbowlight: That would be a good idea. I'll do Ginny's if you want, and you can request more POVs if you want!**

 **PenguinGirl94: True… but it's Draco Malfoy, I guess he thought nothing could happen to him!**

 **I will never own Harry Potter. But hey, I can wish.**

 **I'm so sorry for not updating! I went on vacation, which I thought I mentioned, but obviously I didn't. And as soon as I came back I had school. And it should not be legal to give homework the first week of school. I'm not mentally prepared. Anyway, enough of my excuses, here's the chapter!**

"Time for presents!" called Molly Weasley. Immediately everyone gathered into a room with a Christmas tree in the corner. Draco was almost impressed at the amount of presents underneath. But then he remembered that the Weasleys had seventy extended family members or something.

"Goodness, there are a lot of people this year," said Molly. "We'll go from youngest to oldest."

Ginny sighed. With a flick of her wand Molly levitated all of Ginny's presents to the correct people.

Draco blinked in surprise when a present landed in his lap. He looked up questioningly at Ginny, who grinned. He tore open the wrapping to see a pair of gloves for quidditch.

"You may already have a pair," said Ginny, "but it just seemed so you."

The gloves were green with silver streaks. Draco wasn't about to tell her that he liked them, but he said thank you.

Everyone received a limited edition of The Quibbler from Luna, much to Draco's amusement. He got a basket of sweets from Ron, to his shock. Ron turned red and mumbled something about Pansy and Hermione forcing him. Blaise got him a book – _How to Charm Muggleborn Witches_ , much to Blaise's amusement. Ginny had cracked up when she saw the book. Draco ignored them. Hermione gave him an expensive looking watch. From Pansy he received a big basket of sweets, like always. Harry also gave him a book – _Hogwarts, A History_ , saying that he'd better read it before Hermione makes him. Draco rolled his eyes at that. The rest of the guests didn't get him anything, not that he got them anything. Honestly, he hadn't expected anything, so he only got Hermione a gift.

He knew she would love it, and the expression on her face when she saw the necklace was priceless. He'd gotten her an emerald necklace with matching earrings. She'd promptly kissed him, but Blaise, who was being his usual dramatic self, stopped them.

Finally Molly Weasley lifted up the last set of presents, which were from her and Arthur Weasley. Everyone opened their box immediately, and put on a jumper, each with their first initial on it. Then in weird unison, they all turned to Pansy, Blaise, and Draco.

Pansy opened hers first, picking out a lavender colored jumper with a yellow P on it.

"Put it on!" cried the Weasleys. Pansy gave them a look but complied.

Blaise took his out next, a silver jumper with a green B. He quickly put it on before the Weasleys could yell at him.

Everyone's eyes turned to Draco. He opened the box and lifted a green jumper with a silver D.

"Thanks," he said to Molly, putting it down.

"You gonna wear it or what?" asked Ron with a raised eyebrow.

Draco scoffed. "No."

Fred and George promptly jumped on him, pinning his arms down. Draco let out a yell, flailing his legs around. Bill and Charlie pinned his legs, and Ron and Ginny forced the jumper on him. Hermione and Harry were laughing, holding onto each other for support.

Draco was released and he sat up with a scowl, patting his messed up hair down. Blaise was guffawing his head off while Pansy turned her laugh into a cough. Eventually they all were laughing again, and Draco's lips twitched as he watched Hermione grin.

"Best Christmas by far!" cried Ginny between giggles.

"I agree," gasped Charlie.

Fred and George straightened themselves. "Amazing Christmas," they said.

"We should do this every year!" said Bill with a grin.

Blaise's head shot up, mortified. "But then we'll have to clean the dishes every year!"

Hermione smacked him over the head.

"Ow!"

Draco pulled Hermione close to him. "I love you," he murmured.

"Love you too," she said, looking up at him. She giggled. "Your hair is still sticking up."

He growled, smoothing it down as she laughed. His hands went down near her ribs, and he began tickling her mercilessly. She let out a shriek.

"Say it's not funny," he said with a smirk.

"It's – not – funny!" she cried, clutching her sides when he let her go.

"Damn right it isn't," he growled.

Before he knew it, it was time to return to the Manor.

"Come with me," he said to Hermione.

"Draco," she laughed. "I've got to go see my parents. You can last for a week alone."

He huffed.

"You're so spoiled," she giggled before stepping through the Floo.

"How was Christmas with the Weasleys?" sneered Lucius with thinly veiled disgust as soon as Draco arrived at the Manor.

"Not bad, actually," responded Draco.

"What is that ridiculous thing you are wearing?"

Draco looked down. Right. The jumper that had been mercilessly forced upon him.

"Those damn Weasleys forced me to," he complained. "You know how they are. Too many of them to fight."

Lucius smirked. "And your hair's sticking up."

He growled, once again attempting to pat his hair down.

"Draco, darling! How was it?" Narcissa had arrived.

"Could've gone worse," he replied.

Narcissa hummed. "Maybe we should join you next year."

Lucius choked. "What?"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow. "We can go to the Weasleys' next Christmas," she said patiently. "It's awfully empty around here."

Lucius looked incredulous. "They're _Weasleys_ ," he pointed out.

Narcissa glared. "And obviously we will be seeing a lot more of them. They're like Hermione's family, we might as well get used to them."

Lucius growled, muttering under his breath.

"You'll live," Narcissa said.

"I'm not sure," Draco told her. "The Weasleys can be pretty vicious when they want to be."

 **As I mentioned above, I've got school now, so I'll have more work. So I'm going to have to update every week instead of every other day, I hope you guys are fine with it!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you:**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: I'm so glad you liked it! And here's Ginny's POV, as promised!**

 **DelusionalDoll: Wow, all at once? And thanks, glad you like it! Oh, and I didn't even think of having Draco meet Hermione's parents! That would be hysterical! Your review made my day!**

 **I'm sorry for updating so late! I've recently been applying to other schools, so that means more work for me. And I'm finally done my 3 month science project. But yeah, I'm very sorry!**

 **So this chapter will be in Ginny's POV. And some people may want to tear their hair out because of a certain stubborn witch. But it's all good.**

Ginny hummed to herself as she headed towards the Head dorms, blushing slightly at the prospect of seeing Blaise. She hadn't seen him since Christmas, where, she recalled with a giggle, they had forced Draco to wear the Weasley jumper.

"Pax Amicita," she said, and the portrait opened.

She skipped towards Blaise's room, but her step faltered slightly when she heard voices from inside.

"What are we supposed to do, Blaise? I love her, but if I sleep with her and then you declare your love for Millicent it'll be an obvious sign. She's not stupid." The voice was definitely Draco's.

Her breath caught when she heard the part about Millicent. What was Draco talking about?

"And I love Ginny. But don't you realize, Drake? No one was ever supposed to win this bet. It gave me the chance to have Ginny, and without the bet you would never have gone after Hermione."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. Bet?

"True. I would still be moping about how she was out of reach," admitted Draco.

"It was my plan from the beginning, mate," said Blaise.

"So we call it off now?" asked Draco.

There was silence, but Ginny assumed that Blaise nodded.

She chose that moment to storm into the room.

"Bet?" she shrieked. "You used Hermione and me for a _bet?"_

Blaise leapt up, looking worried. "Ginny! We just called it off!"

She crossed her arms. "That doesn't change anything," she muttered sulkily.

Blaise was in front of her in an instant. "Ginny, I love you," he said. "You heard us, right?"

Ginny sighed, knitting her eyebrows. "I guess I can't be too mad at you if you were going to call it off," she said. "But don't use Hermione and me ever again!"

Blaise nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said, looking relieved.

"Don't you dare start making out in front of me," Draco announced.

Ginny whirled around. "Are you going to tell Hermione?"

Draco shrugged. "There's not much point, but there's no harm in doing it."

Blaise strode over to the portrait and pushed it open. "It's time for dinner," he said.

Ginny followed him, silently seething about the bet. The fact that Blaise had been planning to call it off seriously complicated things.

"Hey, Gin," Hermione greeted when Ginny reached the Great Hall.

"Hi, 'Mione," Ginny replied, sitting down next to her.

"You look distracted," she said, pouring her some pumpkin juice.

"I'll tell you in the common room," said Ginny.

* * *

"Alright. What is it?" asked Hermione.

Ginny paused. "Blaise and Draco – "

"Used you and Ginny for a bet," interrupted another voice. "Jeez, Ginny, I told you I would've told her."

Ginny turned to see Draco. Then she realized it probably would've been a good idea to make Hermione hear them out.

"You _what?"_ hissed Hermione. "Draco Malfoy, I'm going to _castrate_ you! How _dare_ you!" she shrieked. Her volume was getting louder and louder.

Draco realized the same thing Ginny realized. "Hermione, it's not like that – "

" – you _despicable,_ sorry excuse for a wizard – "

"Hermione!" Ginny cried.

" – I _hate_ you, Malfoy – "

"Ginny, let me have a moment with her," Draco commanded.

Ginny narrowed her eyes but complied. As soon as the doors were closed she reached into her robes and took out some Extendable Ears.

"I'll hex you into the next bloody century, Malfoy," Hermione was snarling.

"Calm down," Draco murmured. "I can explain."

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"You know, when you bet on someone you don't usually tell them," she said, sounding thoroughly perplexed.

"I know."

"Then why are you telling me?"

He answered softly, "Because we called it off."

There was silence.

"You can ask Ginny. It was always Blaise's intention to call it off."

More silence.

"You know I love you," he said. "You can ask Ginny. She overheard us."

"You _used_ us," snapped Hermione. "Don't bring Ginny into this."

"You can ask Ginny. Be logical – "

"I am being logical! You're the one that _used me for a bet!"_

"Calm down – "

"Like hell I will! You are _not_ getting out of this!"

"Give me a chance to explain – "

"You don't need to explain! Don't play with my feelings!" Hermione hissed.

"Hermione – "

"I know what I need to know! I bet you've had quite a laugh about this with your friends! With Blaise! You guys may have fooled Ginny, but you'll never fool me!"

"Ginny heard us talking! It's not like we knew she was there! We were just discussing it!"

Hermione snorted. "Sure. You and Blaise are smart wizards. You could've easily detected her and changed tactics."

"Now you're just making excuses," snapped Draco. "Ginny's not an idiot. She could probably outsmart us, well I don't know about me, but she could outsmart Blaise, the guy was never too bright to begin with – "

"Stop changing the subject!" Hermione screeched. "The point is, you used us for a bet! I can't believe that Ginny actually believes you! How can she possibly be content after knowing that you and Blaise have played us for fools – "

"I've loved you for so long. Blaise wanted me to stop wallowing in pity, so he created this so I would actually try – "

"Oh, and he's the dumb one?" she retorted smartly.

Draco lost patience. "Do you not trust me enough to at least hear me out?"

Hermione paused. "But there's that small chance," she said. "I don't want to get hurt, Draco."

 **That chapter was actually pretty hard to write. And Hermione's pretty stubborn in this chapter, but I tried to make her logical as she usually is as well, but I guess that isn't a very good combination. And I also wanted to get this chapter up because I've made you guys wait for like, forever, so, yeah. Sorry! I know my excuses are kind of crappy, but at least I finally did it!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you:**

 **Lala-rainbowlight: Thank you! And yes, this chapter will be in Hermione's POV! And thank you again! Your review brightened my day!**

 **I decided to write another chapter faster because I made you wait so long for the last chapter!**

 **In case you couldn't tell from my other disclaimers, I don't own Harry Potter.**

Hermione mulled over his explanation. She honestly didn't know whether to believe him or not. Yes, she loved him, but he had already admitted that there had been a bet. One side of her wanted to believe him. It was the side that was urging her to listen to Ginny. The other side wanted to retreat into a shell, to avoid getting hurt.

Her logical side told her that he was telling the truth, that she was stupid for not believing him. But Hermione wanted to analyze all parts of this, to make sure she didn't miss anything.

She lay in her dorm, thinking hard. Finally, her logical side won over, and she decided to believe him and Ginny. And anyway, if he had lied to her, she could always castrate him.

* * *

Hermione made her way to the Great Hall the next morning feeling calm and refreshed.

"Hey Harry, Ron," she said cheerfully.

"Hey Hermione," said Harry. "Why are you so… uh… happy?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Ginny told us about the, uh, bet," Ron said carefully.

Hermione waved it off. "I've given it some thought."

Harry and Ron shared a surprised look. The Hermione they knew would fume for days, and her victim would probably be in the hospital wing.

"So you aren't mad at Draco?" asked Ron.

"Her being mad at me is about as likely as you calling my first name," drawled a new voice. "Possible, but extremely rare."

Ron rolled his eyes.

Draco turned to Hermione. "I take it that you believe me?"

Hermione flushed, nodding.

"Good thing Ginny heard us, or I would probably be seriously injured," he smirked.

"And Blaise," she reminded him.

"Yes, he would probably be more hurt. I'm the better looking one anyway," he said thoughtfully.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, Draco?"

He feigned hurt. "What, can't I visit my girlfriend?"

"Not if the price is hanging out with a bunch of Gryffindors," she replied, smiling.

"He only wanted to see if you forgave him," Ginny said, amused.

Hermione grinned. "I know," she laughed.

"See you at potions," Draco told her, rolling his eyes at Ginny.

Hermione smiled. "See you."

* * *

"Turn in your homework," Snape barked as he entered the dungeon. Hermione dutifully produced her foot-long essay and turned it in. Snape's eyes surveyed it critically, and he nodded at her.

"Turn to page three hundred and ninety-four," he snapped. "You will be making the Wolfsbane Potion, which should have a faint blue smoke coming from it when completed. Potter and Parkinson, Zabini and Brown, Greengrass and Weasley, Malfoy and Pucey, Granger and Longbottom…"

Hermione smiled at Neville as he set his things on the desk and slid in beside her. She saw Draco out of the corner of her eye. He was snapping at Pucey, and Pucey looked smug. However Hermione soon saw Pucey's expression change to fear.

"Er, Hermione?" asked Neville. "Are you paying attention?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Sorry. I'll get the ingredients," she said, blushing.

Neville had set up the cauldron by the time she got back. They worked together, Hermione patiently helping him. So far, so good. Hermione hoped Neville wouldn't spill anything accidentally.

"You stir while I put in the ingredients," Hermione instructed. Neville nodded, stirring the potion slowly as Hermione carefully emptied the crushed ingredients into the cauldron.

Hermione smiled with relief as the liquid emitted a light blue smoke. Snape came over, his eyebrow raised at Neville. He turned his attention to the potion, nodding slightly. "5 points to Gryffindor," he said with some difficulty.

Neville's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Hermione shook her head in disbelief. Snape had been nicer to the Gryffindors, and she knew it must be because of Draco's relationships with them.

"I hated working with Greengrass," moaned Ron as they left the classroom. "I can't understand anything she says!"

"I would've traded partners," said Harry. "I'm still not that close with Parkinson, and besides, she kept looking at you."

Ron grinned boyishly. "Well, who could resist me?" he said, and Hermione laughed.

"What do we have now?" asked Harry.

"We've got Charms with the Ravenclaws," said Hermione.

"Oh, good," said Harry.

Ron snorted, coughing out what sounded like, "Luna."

Harry glared at him. "Hey, you know what it feels like."

The boy shrugged.

Hermione shook her head, dragging her friends to Flitwick's classroom.

She was uncharacteristically bored during Charms. Flitwick was lecturing them about spells she had researched about a few weeks ago, and she already knew all about them. Her mind wandered to Draco. She remembered her time at the Manor, and realized she could probably invite Draco over to meet her parents their next break, around Easter.

"Hermione," hissed Harry. "Pay attention. You're lucky no one's caught you not listening."

Hermione blushed. "Thanks, Harry."

Harry gave her a fleeting smile.

Hermione took notes the rest of the class, making sure she hadn't missed anything when she had researched the subject.

"I'm hungry," Ron announced when the class was over.

"Like always," Harry responded.

Ron scowled. "I barely ate any breakfast."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You had twice as much as Hermione and I combined had."

"You and Hermione are basically anorexic. I don't understand how you survive with one plateful of food every meal," said Ron.

Hermione smiled at Ron affectionately. "Oh come on, you eat as much as a starved dragon."

Harry laughed at that.

"Here you are!" said a voice from the other end of the hallway. The trio turned to see Theo.

"Have you seen Drake or Blaise or anyone?"

"No, why?" asked Harry.

"We have something now," he said with a frown. "But I forget which class."

Ron sighed. "You've got Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Even I know that."

Theo grinned. "Thanks! Well, I'm gonna be late."

Harry laughed. "I can't believe you haven't ever gotten lost."

"Oh, I have," said Theo with a light shrug. "See you at dinner!"

 **This is a boring chapter, but I wanted Hermione to forgive Draco quickly. Well, my friend did. And also I wanted to keep this story light – I didn't want to make anyone in my story feel too much pain! Even though they can't actually feel pain. Oh well, that's a minor detail.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you:**

 **Parker sparkle – thanks! I'm glad you like it!**

 **Lala-rainbowlight – haha, that was my favorite part of the chapter!**

 **Lolly (Guest) – thank you! And don't worry, I will!**

 **Guest: OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH! That review made my day!**

 **I'm going to skip to Easter Break, because there would be nothing to write about between the last chapter and the break. And also because DelusionalDoll gave a suggestion to have Draco be really confused about muggle stuff, which I thought would be absolutely hysterical. And I've been debating on whether to write this chapter in Hermione or Draco's POV, and I finally decided on Hermione's.**

 **If I owned Harry Potter, a lot of characters would probably not exist because I would want and keep them for myself. Like Draco and Hermione and Ron and Harry and basically every other character in the series.**

Hermione was watching Draco in amusement.

He nearly jumped when Hermione's top oven went _ding._

"That'll be the cookies," Hermione said with a smile.

He glared at the offending cooking machinery. "What in Merlin's beard is this?"

Hermione laughed. "It's an oven, Draco."

"Where are your parents?"

"They're running late. There's a lot of traffic, and my mom probably went overboard with buying food, she loves cooking after all," Hermione said absentmindedly.

Draco started when Hermione's bottom oven went off.

"What is _that_?" he yelped, surprised.

"That's the second oven, Draco," said Hermione patiently.

"When are your parents coming? Can I just meet them and be done? All this muggle stuff is annoying!"

Hermione giggled. Suddenly her mother's voice came through the door. "Hermione? I'm sorry we're late," said Rachael Granger, appearing in the doorway.

Hermione suddenly felt unsure. In the past she'd always ranted about Draco to her parents about how he was a foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach and bullied her throughout school. They'd been very hesitant in letting him come to their home. And she didn't know what Draco would say about their mundane life.

"Hello, Mrs. Granger. It's a pleasure to meet you," said Draco pleasantly. Hermione stared at him in surprise.

Her mother also looked at Draco, shocked. Hermione flushed. Rachael had probably been expecting someone far from polite.

"You must be Draco Malfoy," she said, with a tinge of bitterness.

"Yes. Let me first state that I regret my behavior towards Hermione in the past six years or so," Draco said cordially. "I was a misguided little boy."

Rachael glanced at Hermione. "Um, apology accepted," she stammered. Hermione remembered that her parents had briefly met the male Malfoys at Diagon Alley in her second year, where Draco and Lucius had scorned how they were muggles.

Suddenly David Granger appeared behind his wife, narrowing his eyes at Draco. Hermione tried to not fidget.

"You just missed his apology, David," said Rachael. "He says he regrets treating Hermione the way he did."

It was obvious that David did not believe this for a second.

"Mrs. Granger?" said Draco, looking slightly nervous.

"Oh, call me Rachael. Mrs. Granger sounds old," said Rachael.

"Right. Could you possibly tell me what an oven does? When Hermione puts cookies in it will beep after awhile."

Hermione couldn't help herself. She laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth. Rachael's mouth twitched.

"The heat will bake the cookies," explained Rachael.

Draco stared at the oven interestedly. "How? Is there a charm inside to keep it hot?"

Rachael smiled. "It's a mixture of electricity and whatever else," she said. "I'm not entirely sure."

"What's electricity?" asked Draco.

Rachael blinked. "You could probably ask David… he's better with technology than I am…" she avoided her husband's glare.

Draco looked at David uncertainly. Hermione's father had obviously not forgiven Draco for bullying her.

"What's electricity?" he asked again.

David groaned. "How do you not know what electricity is? Did your parents not teach you about technology? Rachael, he asked you. I'm going to–"

"What's technology?"

Hermione laughed at Draco's confused expression. "It's the term for everything… like electricity and everything in that category."

"What is this electricity used for?"

"Basically everything. Do you not have lights in your house?" said David

"Dad, Draco's a wizard. He has magic for that," Hermione reminded her father.

This only caused David to scowl. "Right. He's a pureblood."

Rachael scoffed. "Do lighten up. Draco's a very polite young man, he's surely gotten over those ideals–"

David's head shot up. "Don't tell me you've fallen for his charm! Well, I can see right through him–"

"Dad!" cried Hermione, appalled. "He's changed!"

David crossed his arms. "He bullied you for years."

"It was a huge mistake," said Draco smoothly. "I would never hurt Hermione. Though I can't say she would never hurt me, she smacks me all the time."

Hermione gasped. "I do not! Only Harry, Ron, and Blaise!"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Sure."

"Fine. Maybe a couple times, but it was purely on instinct."

Draco smiled. "Of course."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but then realized her parents were still there.

Rachael was watching their exchange with a smile, and David was staring at them with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I've changed my mind," he announced abruptly. "I could not be happier for Hermione."

Draco stared in surprise. "Uh, what?" he asked, losing his composure.

"I can see the way you look at her. It's written all over your face." David smiled at Hermione. "And my daughter isn't stupid enough to fall for anyone's tricks. You picked a good one, Hermione," he told his daughter.

Hermione blushed, and she didn't have to look at Draco to know he was smirking smugly.

"I'll help Rachael with the food. You two go watch TV or something. But don't have too much fun," he said.

Hermione blushed harder.

"What's TV?" asked Draco.

Until dinner was ready, Hermione explained the functions of the TV.

"But _how_?" Draco cried.

"I don't know, it just happens!" she said. He insisted that the DVD player read the disc because of magic.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Oh, thank Merlin," murmured Hermione.

"I heard that," he said.

"You know, you won them over quite easily," she told him.

He smirked. "It's the Malfoy charm."

 **This chapter was kind of hard to write. Should I do another chapter about Draco with the Grangers with more humor, or just move on? I think I want to do more with the Grangers, because I needed Hermione's parents to be frosty at first, but soon warm up to him. But what do you guys think? Grangers or no Grangers?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you:**

 **Lala-rainbowlight – Thanks!**

 **laurenlovesdraco (Guest) – Thank you! Unfortunately "yes" to Grangers outvoted "no," so sorry! But the next chapter will be without them!**

 **Ann Onymis – is it bad that I find it hilarious that Draco would be so clueless in the muggle world?**

 **SimplyIsabelleS – Thanks!**

 **BellaPotter (Guest) – haha what's your other fandom?**

 **PhilyraRaven – As soon as I saw your review I was like I GOTTA WRITE ANOTHER CHAPTER and my brain was like what about your phone and I was like NO but I think I could probably update every day currently, because I'm on my winter break.**

 **Link312 – I'm so glad you love it! Your review made my day!**

 **So more people wanted there to be another chapter about Draco with the Grangers, so here you go!**

 **If I owned Harry Potter, the books would be way longer because there would be a Dramione moment on every other page.**

"How do your pictures not move?" asked Draco, trying to make sense of the Grangers' muggle things.

"How do your pictures move?" Hermione responded snarkily.

"Because they just do," he said.

"Exactly," she said, grinning at him.

"Oh, Draco, would you like to see more pictures?" asked Rachael, sweeping into the room and seeing Draco studying the pictures on the mantel.

Before he could reply, Rachael left and came back with a stack of photo albums. Suddenly Hermione jumped up. "Mom! Draco does not want to see pictures!" she cried, her cheeks flaming.

Draco smirked. Now he wanted to see what Hermione was so determined to hide. "Of course I'd like to see them, Mrs. Granger. I'm quite interested in muggle pictures."

Hermione scowled.

Rachael excitedly opened the first album, and Draco saw the Grangers with a little baby girl that was obviously Hermione.

"Hermione was only a year old here," said Rachael. Draco listened with rapt attention as Rachael talked about Hermione as a baby. Hermione had left, muttering under her breath.

Draco cleared his throat. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to an object in a picture.

"That's a microwave," said Rachael.

"That looks pretty nice. If I bought one, I would store things in there," he said.

Rachael coughed. "A microwave is used to heat up food."

Draco frowned. "Oh. What about that?" he said, pointing to another picture.

"A refrigerator," she responded.

"It looks like a giant safe," he observed.

"It keeps your food cold," said Rachael.

"Why would you keep something cold when you would just thaw it with a mikowave?"

"Microwave," Rachael corrected with a smile. "And because the coldness keeps it fresh."

"Rachael," said another voice. Draco looked up to see Mr. Granger.

"What is it?"

"I'd like to have a conversation with him," said David, jerking a head in Draco's direction.

Rachael blinked in surprise. "Oh. Of course," she said, looking between them worriedly.

"In private."

Rachael nodded, exiting the room, and Draco gulped.

"I think we need to have a talk," David said.

"Right," said Draco. "Not to be rude, sir, but, uh, didn't you already give us your blessing of sorts?"

"My Hermione's a smart girl. She knows what she's doing, and I trust her. But love is blind after all." He paused. "Rachael may have forgiven you, but I won't forget those letters from Hermione telling us about a boy who bullied her because she was 'filthy.'"

"I parroted my father," said Draco. "We've been raised to believe that pureblooded wizards are better than muggleborns. But I've only just realized that it isn't true. Hermione is an extraordinary witch. I've been trying to suppress the fact that she completely destroys any reasons why purebloods would be better. But now I realize that there is no difference."

David raised an eyebrow. "Right," he said slowly.

"I will never hurt Hermione."

"If you hurt her, I will personally make sure you are confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

"Don't worry, I would trap myself in a refrigerator and freeze to death," Draco replied solemnly. "And then burn myself in a microwave. What's a wheelchair?"

David stared at him. "A chair with wheels," he replied, looking at Draco as if he were insane.

"That sounds fun. You wouldn't have to walk around everywhere," said Draco. "Though I suppose you wouldn't be able to go upstairs."

David sighed. "They make escalators and elevators for a reason, you know."

"What are those?" asked Draco.

"Escalators are moving stairs. And elevators are kind of like a lift."

"Muggles are geniuses! If I had known about this stuff, I would never have preached blood purity," said Draco, looking pleased. Moving stairs! He would never have to tire himself out at the Manor just to get a change of clothes anymore!

David grunted. "This discussion is creeping me out. Just remember my promise of what I'll do if you hurt my daughter. She's suffered enough at your hands."

"I know. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, saving the two men from an awkward moment.

"Are you two finished?" asked Rachael, peeking inside.

"Yes," said David, looking relieved.

"Good. Dessert's ready."

Hermione appeared behind her mother. "And I'm hungry. Can you guys finish your discussion?"

"We're done," said Draco, walking up to her and kissing her on the forehead.

She blushed. Draco ignored David's burning stare as he led Hermione to the table. He pulled out a chair for her, and she sat down, still blushing.

"So what did you two talk about?" asked Rachael.

"Oh, this and that," said Draco noncommittally.

Rachael didn't press him. "David, have you seen Draco's teeth? They're so white! How many times a day do you brush your teeth?"

"Pardon?" asked Draco, confused. What in the world did she mean by brushing his teeth?

"Three times a day," Hermione answered for him.

Something told Draco that boasting about the perfect Malfoy pedigree was not a good idea.

"There's not too many people nowadays that take good care of their teeth," sighed Rachael. "It's a good thing that you do, Draco."

Draco helped himself to another brownie. Hermione wasn't kidding when she said her mother liked to bake.

Soon it was time for Draco to leave.

"I really enjoyed spending my time here," he said sincerely. "I hope you'll come to the Manor someday, my mother would love to meet you."

Rachael beamed. "It was our pleasure. Do come again, dear."

Draco nodded, smiling, before apparating back to the Manor.

 **Sorry this took a couple of days! I didn't really know what to write. But do you guys have any suggestions or POV requests? Just let me know if you do!**


End file.
